Heroes of Spira
by Fayte
Summary: After a fierce battle with Ultimecia, Squall and his friends are thrown into the intricate web of Time Compression. Thousands of years pass before it begins to settle down, scattering them across the unfamiliar world of Spira...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy X.

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Prologue**

The epic Sorceress War was nearing its end and it was not going as planned. Ultimecia soon had the upper hand in battle and was moments away from annihilating Squall and the others from existence. She was determined to be successful with her compression of time and nothing could stand in her way, nothing. Even though the heroes were slowly losing the battle, they kept their heads up, always waiting for their next chance to strike. They could never let Ultimecia have her way and reign over the world in tyranny. They were ready to fight until the end; even if it killed them.

The battle became more intense as each moment passed. It wasn't looking at all good for Squall, but still he kept fighting alongside his friends never giving up. Unfortunately, with the summon of Apocalypse, Ultimecia abolished Squall and his friends into an abyss of Time Compression to last forever.

Ultimecia had won the Sorceress War, and our heroes were seemingly wiped from existence. For hundreds of years, Ultimecia had reigned over the world, casting fear into the hearts of all who opposed her. Inevitably, she was defeated by an underground opposition. Although, even after Ultimecia was defeated, our heroes were still caught in the web of Time Compression, unaware of the changing world.

Eventually the world died out, and it seemed as though not a thing lived on it for several hundred years, perhaps thousands, yet our heroes were still caught in the web of Time Compression - never getting a day older, nor a minute younger. A thousand years was only seconds for them, and several thousand years passed before life began on the planet again.

This new world was peaceful until a war broke out between two large cities: Bevelle and Zanarkand. After an epic battle, Zanarkand was left a pile of rubble. A thousand years after that, a young woman set out to defeat an evil force called Sin, which was summoned a thousand years before to aid Bevelle in the war between them and Zanarkand. Sin had become a punishment to the people of this new world called Spira, returning every few years to wreak havoc.

It was the duty of a Summoner to put Sin to rest, and bring The Calm. By this time, Ultimecia's spell of Time Compression had finally worn away and Squall and his comrades were separated all over Spira. They would soon become entwined in another hero's destiny. What will become of the heroes from the past when they are thrown into the story of another?

A/N: Oooh! Does that sound at all interesting? Well, if you think that sounds interesting then stick around to see what happens. I, too, am quite interested in how I am going to write this all out. I have lots of idea's for everything and such. Who would have thought the Time Compression would lead our heroes from Final Fantasy VIII to Spira and encounter the heroes from Final Fantasy X right at the beginning of the pilgrimage… Sounds interesting! Stick around for upcoming chapters )


	2. The Beginning

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

As the early morning sun slowly ascended in the sky, a young man stretched out and yawned. Leaning against a tall tree, speckles of morning rays shone through the forest surrounding him. Slowly he opened his eyes to find himself on unfamiliar turf. Not remembering what had happened to him, he looked around in panic, wondering where in the world he could be, and just how did he get there? After sitting for a moment, puzzling over what was going on, he stood up and adjusted his hat.

Several times he called the names of his friends, yet there was no answer; only the birds could be heard, and the occasional wild animal running through the forest. He began to wander, hoping he had not lost himself in an endless sea of trees and shrubbery, continuing to shout the names of his friends. After wandering aimlessly for about and hour, he suddenly found himself at the foot of a giant stairway made of stone. Seeing as he had nowhere to really go, he started up the stairs.

It was getting hotter as the afternoon carried on, and the stairs seemed to go on forever towards the sky. Before giving up on his climb to the top, he heard the familiar sounds of a battle going on not to far from where he stood. Swiftly, yet cautiously, he continued up the stone stairs and soon found himself staring at a large creature standing before three people. A few moments passed before he figured they could use some help to destroy the monster. Being an Ace Marksman, he pulled out his gun and steadied his aim on what appeared to be a weak part of the large creature. He waited patiently for just the right moment to shoot. Finally, he pulled the trigger and a loud bang echoed off of the stone steps. The monster shriveled up and disappeared slowly into the air.

Everyone on the steps turned around in shock and awe to see a man standing behind them holding the weapon that defeated the monster. Smirking, he waltzed up to the group, "Hey, my name's Irvine," he introduced himself. He gave his gun a twirl before he put it back, and grinned. The group just sort of looked at him for a moment, unsure what to say, until someone stepped up.

"Thank you so much for helping us," one of the two young women thanked Irvine. "My name is Yuna," she introduced herself, "and this is Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, and Tidus." He nodded to each of them as Yuna said each of their names. Curiously, he looked again at each one of them. _Heh… cleavage… _Irvine thought to himself. _His hair almost resembles Zell's in a way… And what race is _that_ guy?! I've never seen anyone or anything like him before… And that other guy almost resembles Zell in a strange way as well… I can't say that I've ever met any of these people before in my life._

Irvine didn't recognize any of them, and a question brewed up inside of him. He couldn't keep quiet any longer, and he had to know, "Do you mind telling me where I am?" He knew the question might have sounded silly to them, but he couldn't seem to remember anything that had happened to him. His head buzzed with the beginnings of a headache as he tried to remember the last thing he could before waking up in the middle of the forest.

"You're in Kilika," Lulu answered as she shook her head. The name didn't sound at all familiar to Irvine. He thought for a moment, and searched for an answer, but nothing came up. After a moment of thought, the memory of Time Compression came back him. _Could I have been sent to another world? _Irvine shoved that thought out of his mind. He didn't want to think of such a thing. He could never believe he was in another world. It would traumatize him if he were to never see his friends again.

"Uh… Do you know how I can get back to Balamb?" Irvine asked tentatively, hoping for the answer he wanted to hear. If they didn't know what he was talking about, Irvine had prepared another question to ask.

After a few seconds of thinking, Wakka answered, "There's no 'Balamb' that I know of here in Spira…" He looked a bit worried, and tapped Irvine on the head. "You must have gotten too close to Sin's toxin, ya? What's the last thing you remember?"

Irvine thought again for a moment, trying to conjure up his last string of memory. He seemed to remember the Time Compression and how it could create a rift in time, sending people, places, and objects into the past or future. Suddenly his memory came flooding back to him as if his mind had been unplugged. _Ultimecia… Sorceress Ultimecia - was she successful in her compression of time? Did we really lose that battle?!_

Irvine decided to ask one more question, just to make sure, "Well, what happened to Sorceress Ultimecia?" If they didn't know the answer to this question, Irvine would know for sure he wasn't where he was supposed to be. Everyone just looked at him oddly for a few moments. Irvine frowned and knew by the looks on their faces that they didn't know what he was talking about.

"I'm so sorry; I have no idea what you are talking about," Yuna answered in dismay. She could tell the gunslinger was hoping for a different answer. "Perhaps you did get too close to Sin, and your memory is fogged up right now. The same thing happens to a lot of people when they get too close to Sin," Yuna looked at her friends, who were looking at Tidus.

"What you may think are real memories, might in fact be completely fictitious and made up in your mind, all due to Sin's toxin," Lulu added.

"_Sin_? What is _Sin_?" Irvine asked, clueless of what she had said. _What is this Sin thing?_ Irvine had so many questions flooding his mind at this point. He was confused beyond imagination at what was going on. He knew he wasn't in the right place. And he thought that if he wasn't in the right place, his friends might not be here either, but in a different world or even another dimension. He felt helpless and couldn't help but collapse onto the ground. He sat on his knees and looked at the ground. _Selphie…_

"Are you okay?" Yuna asked worriedly. She could tell he wasn't too happy. A slight breeze blew by them for a moment. The afternoon sun was high in the sky and it was continuing to get hotter as the day progressed. A few seconds later, Irvine lifted his head.

"I'm… I'm okay… I think," Irvine answered. He then lifted himself off the ground and stood up again. He brushed off the dirt and tried to smile. Was he really in a different world? Would he ever see his friends again? Irvine then thought that if he ended up here, his friends must be around somewhere, too. With this new thought, he was determined to find them. "Do you think I could come with you guys?" Irvine asked. "'Cause I have some friends that might be around here somewhere. I don't know where I am and I don't want to get lost trying to find them."

Yuna smiled and replied, "Yes, you can come with us. I guess you can follow along until you find your friends." Irvine smiled back at her. He wasn't sure what to expect if he really was in another world, but surely being with a group of people would enhance his chances of finding his friends if they too, ended up in this world.

"Come on," Lulu said, "we have a pilgrimage to be on, we mustn't waste our time." Her voice sounded slightly annoyed and stern. It didn't seem as though she approved of this random guy tagging along. Kimahri didn't say a word, but the expression on his face struck a hint of fear into Irvine.

"Right," Yuna nodded. They began to climb the last set of stone stairs, finally reaching the end. Atop them was a building, a temple of some sort. Irvine stopped and looked at his surroundings, taking in everything around him, trying to memorize every detail and search in his memory for anything that seemed remotely familiar. The others continued in front of him as he continued to look around.

Soon, another group of people, who were pretty much dressed in the same clothing style, came out of the temple. The red haired man began to talk to Wakka in a sarcastic tone. Then some people dressed like Wakka appeared and stood next to him. Irvine walked a little closer, curious to see what all the noise was about. He guessed that since they were wearing identical clothing, they must be on a team of some sort. Irvine happened to catch a bit of the conversation, "Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win." The red haired man seemed pretty amused. Tidus then stepped in and said something back to him, but Irvine couldn't make it out. Moments later, the Luca Goers left with grins on their faces. As they walked by Irvine, one of them purposely bumped into his shoulder.

Irvine swung around to watch them walk down the stairs, and managed to mutter, "Someone's got problems…" He then walked over to Wakka and asked, "What was that all about?" Wakka didn't seem all that wild about running into the group of men.

"Ah, those were the Luca Goers, ya?" Wakka replied. "They win every year, but this year, we're gunna win! Right boys? We have Tidus!" Wakka grinned and the guys on his team cheered. "They're gunna be sore Luca Losers when we're done with 'em, ya!" Wakka added with a smirk. Irvine couldn't help but chuckle; it was pretty funny. After a short and awkward silence, they decided to head inside the temple.

Everywhere Irvine looked, people seemed to be praying to statues, which he found slightly odd. He also heard something unreal; a hymn of some sort, coming from what seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. There were no speakers in sight and he couldn't see a chorus of people singing it anywhere around the room in which he stood. Wakka kneeled down in front of a statue and began to pray, making a strange arm movement. Soon after, Tidus joined him and did the same thing. Irvine shrugged; he was unfamiliar with it but decided to join the two of them. He kneeled down next to Tidus and attempted the same hand movements. After a while, he figured it out.

"So what exactly is this that we're doing?" Irvine questioned. He wasn't too sure what was going on, so he had to ask. It was all new to him and somehow quite interesting; there was nothing like this from where Irvine came from.

"We're praying to Yevon," Wakka replied. Irvine guessed that this 'Yevon' was like a god to them, perhaps almost like Hyne, except no one prayed at the foot of any statues of him, if there were in fact any. Wakka then stopped and got up and both Tidus and Irvine did the same. They began to walk up a set of stairs and through a door where they met a scantily clad woman with a very buff and muscular man standing next to her.

"Well, what have we got here?" the woman stated as she looked at Yuna and the group, almost with disgust. "Quite a large group. Do you really need all those Guardians?" she laughed, "I only need one."

"Well, these are not just my Guardians," Yuna countered. "They are my friends, too, and I trust them." The woman smirked at Yuna's comment and raised an eyebrow. The woman shook her head and exited the room with her Guardian. After that, Yuna and her Guardians continued onto the platform in front of them. Kimahri turned around and pushed Tidus and Irvine off with his arm.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" Tidus questioned.

"Only Guardians can enter the Cloister of Trials," Lulu answered. "And you two, are not Guardians." The platform made its descent to the bottom floor and moments later returned. Before Irvine and Tidus could turn around, the scantily clad woman had come back with her Guardian. Using one arm for each of them, the woman's Guardian tossed them over his shoulders and dropped them down onto the platform. The woman snickered as the platform lowered, and Irvine knew he and Tidus were going to be in some serious trouble.

The platform stopped on the bottom floor, and they found themselves inside the Cloister Of Trials. Yuna and the rest of her Guardians were already finished the Cloister of Trials when Tidus and Irvine had just begun. "So… uh…" Irvine tried to make conversation, "where are you from?" It was a pretty pointless question to ask, since Irvine knew this world wasn't his. He looked at the blonde boy who stood next to him.

Tidus turned to Irvine and answered, "Well, this might sound crazy, but I'm from Zanarkand." The name didn't seem familiar at all to Irvine. "I'm hoping I'll be getting back home soon," Tidus began to walk while Irvine followed. "So, where are you from?" Tidus asked.

"Well, this is probably going to sound more crazy than your answer, but…" Irvine began, "I think I came from a completely different world…" Tidus stopped and looked at Irvine. A completely different world? Tidus could relate to Irvine on this subject, as he too felt almost like he was from a completely different world. Although his Zanarkand existed in this world, Tidus had no recollection of anything else.

"How did you get here then?" Tidus asked. He seemed really interested. Maybe Irvine had come from Zanarkand and his memory was just fuzzy because of Sin. Tidus wondered if they might have even known each other before getting too close to Sin's toxin. It seemed like a farfetched idea, but anything seemed possible. Irvine thought for a moment as they aimlessly wandered the corridors of the Cloister of Trials. His memory slowly caught up to him in waves.

"Okay, well, here it goes," Irvine started. He had a lot that he was going to tell Tidus. As Irvine told the story, they made their way through the Cloister of Trials. "My friends and I were on a mission to destroy the Sorceress Threat. When I first joined the group, I never thought this would happen though…" He explained how he became a part of the group in the first place, and all the things that followed. "…So we had to save Rinoa from Sorceress Adel and at the same time, destroy Adel, who was inside Lunatic Pandora. We were successful, but after the battle, a future Sorceress, Ultimecia, had started Time Compression," Irvine explained it as best he could. "It was very confusing, but we managed to survive through it and make our way to Ultimecia's Castle in the future. We worked our way through the castle and finally came upon Ultimecia's room, where she sat upon her throne. The Time Compression had set us quite a few years into the future in a matter of seconds." Irvine paused for a moment and thought of something, then continued while Tidus listened, "It was a long hard battle, we fought as hard as we could, but…" his voice quivered slightly as he continued, "it wasn't enough. Once she junctioned herself unto Griever, she summoned some sort of Apocalypse… Ultimecia was successful with her Time Compression, and my friends and I had gotten tangled and lost in its web…" Again, Irvine paused for a moment.

"Well? What happened next?" Tidus had never heard of anything like this before. He wasn't sure if he could believe Irvine's story as it seemed all too surreal, but the tone in Irvine's voice insisted it was true. They were nearing the end of the Cloister of Trials and Tidus wanted to hear the rest of the story. "Go on!" Tidus urged.

Irvine nodded and continued, "I just thought of something. Maybe I'm not from another world. Maybe I am from this very world, but now I'm thousands of years ahead of my time. Time Compression couldn't have sent us to another world. This has to be the world I am from. It only takes seconds of Time Compression to be sent thousands of years into the future. This must be it. So that means that Selphie, Zell, Rinoa, Squall and Quistis are here too. The Time Compression must have worn off recently." It was a hell of a story, and a lot to take in. Irvine thought up his theory as he went along, believing more and more that it were in fact true.

"That's a lot to take in…" Tidus said. "Well, this is it. The end of the Cloister of Trials." Tidus inserted the last Sphere into the hole, and they entered through the door. As they entered the room, everyone looked their way. They didn't seem to be very happy at their sight.

"What are you two doing down here!?" Wakka demanded. He didn't seem pleased at all. Irvine looked at the room he was now in. He could hear the hymn even louder than before. It was pleasing to his ears, and he liked it. It was calming and tranquil.

"It was that woman and her Guardian!" Tidus explained to Wakka and the others. Moments later, Yuna emerged from the finely decorated door behind Kimahri. After some small talk, they exited the temple. Their next destination was the dock to board the S.S Winno to Luca.


	3. Luca

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Two: Luca**

"So," Irvine began to talk, "where exactly are we headed to?" Being unfamiliar with his surroundings, he felt almost like a tourist in Esthar. Since this world was new to him, he wanted to do a lot of exploring. He figured that once he found his friends, they could explore a little and then try to find a way back home… That is if it was possible for them to get back. The thought of never returning home distraught Irvine as he began to think about the places he was already missing.

"We're headed off to Luca," Wakka replied. "That's where the Blitzball tournament is being held, ya!" The afternoon sun had now reached its peak in the sky. _Blitzball? _Irvine had never heard of such a thing, but it sounded interesting.

"What exactly is Blitzball?" Irvine asked as he tilted his head to one side. There was so much he had to learn about this world and it made him feel slightly alienated. He didn't mind if he stood out like a sore thumb as it would make it easier for his friends to spot him, but he couldn't help but feel just a little strange.

"You're kidding, ya?" Wakka stopped in his track, very surprised at the question. "Where have you been? Blitzball is only Spira's favourite sport! Everyone knows what it is!" Wakka shook his head and added, "Sin's toxin really did get you… Pretty bad too, ya?" Irvine shrugged. His mind began to dish out handfuls of questions such as _What if I really am from this world, and all of my supposed memories are made up? It couldn't possibly be true though… Selphie…_

The group continued down the huge set of stone stairs and at the foot of them was a path continuing through a forest. Along the path, they encountered what Irvine thought looked eerily similar to an Ochu. This one, however, seemed to be slightly bigger than he remembered them to be.

"Watch out!" Tidus yelled as the giant monster moved towards them. Before they could get away though, they found themselves in a battle against the giant Ochu.

Irvine stood off to one side and waited for the others to take their turns before going himself. Kimahri started by casting Scan on the Ochu, finding Fire spells to be its weakness. Lulu followed by casting one of her Fire spells, causing the monster to flinch. Irvine took his turn next and shot the monster which paralyzed one of its tentacles. Furious, the monster took it's turn to knock everyone down with its remaining tentacles.

The battle went on for quite a while as everyone took turns to attack. Irvine noticed that his new found friends all seemed to have an area of expertise: Yuna was a Healer, Tidus a Swordsman, Lulu a Black Mage, Wakka was an Attacker with his Blitzball allowing him long range attacks, and Kimahri… well, he had a Lance.

Eventually, the battle ended and the Ochu was beaten. It was a tiring battle, but they continued on through the forest and to the docks. As Irvine looked around, he noticed that the small village on the water looked as though it had been destroyed. Several men were carrying large planks of wood around, while others had hammers and nails, trying to repair some of the damage.

"What happened here?" Irvine asked curiously. The group fell deadly silent for a moment. Both Yuna and Wakka looked towards the planks below their feet.

"It was Sin," Lulu answered. Feeling slightly awkward for asking the question, Irvine decided not to ask anymore questions along the way. They made their way through the pieces of debris left in Sin's wake, and eventually came upon a decent sized boat. After boarding, Irvine decided to split away from the group and take a moment for himself to think.

"Need… food… ugh…" Irvine heard a familiar voice moan. Irvine walked a little up deck to find a familiar looking boy mopping away at the floor. At first Irvine didn't believe what he was seeing, and as he got closer, he knew who it was. "I need hot dogs!" the blonde boy yelled. Irvine knew it! It was his friend Zell! The blonde boy sighed and looked up at the sky while wiping his forehead of sweat. He then looked over towards Irvine and immediately dropped the mop and bucket in disbelief. "IRVINE!"

"ZELL!" Irvine hollered back and waved his arms. "Oh man, I am so glad I ran into you!" Irvine told Zell.

"You won't _believe_ what I've been through!" Zell hastily said. "Okay, I woke up on this ship and ever since I've been mopping the decks for Gil! It's insane!" Zell huffed. "You gotta get me off of this ship, man." Irvine nodded. "Oh! There's so much I need to tell you!"

"Yeah, and there's a lot I need to tell you too," Irvine added. They both sat down at the end of the ship and began to tell their stories as the afternoon carried on.

"I'll start," Irvine insisted. "Okay, I woke up in this forest earlier today, and having no idea what was going on, I began to walk around and eventually I found some people who were about to be monster food. I helped them out, and they were nice enough to let me tag along until I found my friends. I also met this guy, Tidus, who says he came from Zanarkand. I've never heard of the place, but I think he believes my story. Surely you must have also figured this out as well; we got caught in Ultimecia's Time Compression and were carried thousands of years into the future. I assume it's only been recently that the Time Compression finally settled and it left us here in time."

"Yeah man, I kind of thought there was something wrong here. It's been a few weeks though since I woke up, and when I did, I was on this boat. I tried to explain myself to the captain and crew, but they just gave me strange looks, saying that I got too close to 'Sin's toxin' or something," Zell sighed. "I told them that my friends might be around somewhere, and they offered to let me travel with them, but only if I did some work around here. Now that I've found you though, I can get the hell off of this ship. They don't pay me enough for what I do!" Zell threw a few punches into the air before continuing, "Oh! Have you heard of Blitzball? It's gotta be the coolest sport I've ever heard of! Just a while ago, this amazing team of Blitzball players gave me some pointers on my technique. They're from Luca, where this ship is headed to. They're a pretty popular team there for sure, I've seen them play before on one of our stops there." Irvine remembered the team from the temple, though they didn't seem all too amazing to him.

"The Luca Losers, you mean?" Irvine laughed, remembering what Wakka had said back in front of the temple.

"Luca Goers!" Zell corrected him. "What, have you met them before or something?"

"They happened to bump into us back in Kilika, literally," Irvine told his friend the story of the Luca Goers mocking Wakka's team.

"Tch, you make them sound like jerks," Zell said. Irvine rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Anyway, if you like Blitzball, you have to meet Wakka!" Irvine said excitedly. "He's the captain of another team. I didn't catch the name though. Maybe he can draft you into his team!" Zell's face lit up. Anyone would know this look; it's the expression he made whenever he got a hot dog from the cafeteria back at Balamb Garden, or whenever he won a battle.

Eventually, they made their way over to the other side of the boat where Yuna was talking to the team members of the Luca Goers. Tidus seemed to be arguing with them.

"Hey Wakka!" Irvine yelled for Wakka's attention. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." Zell followed Irvine over to a tall man with hair that was almost quite similar to Zell's. Wakka grinned as he imagined the lively young boy was probably a good Blitzer. "This is one of my friends I was telling you about, this is Zell," Irvine introduced him. "Zell, this is Wakka." They shook hands and began to talk.

"You play Blitz, kid?" Wakka asked.

"Well, uh…" Zell stuttered. "Yeah! Actually I've been practicing a lot lately!"

"That's great, ya!" Wakka replied. "Maybe after the tournament in Luca we'll draft you onto our team!" Zell's face lit up.

"That'd be awesome!" Zell cheered excitedly. He had never actually played a game of Blitzball since waking up in Spira. The closest he came was practicing during the couple of weeks he had been in Spira. On one trip to Luca, the captain of the S.S. Winno invited him to watch a Blitzball game. Zell had never seen any sport like it before and was a fan of it almost immediately.

As the afternoon carried on, so did the boat ride. It was going to be about a day before they would reach Luca. Irvine introduced Zell to the rest of the group and after some chatting, the two of them retreated to the back of the boat. Irvine leaned on the railing and stared out to the ocean and thought for a moment. The ocean was calm but with a sense of destruction laying below. He sighed and turned to face his friend Zell.

"So," Zell said, "thinking about everyone?" Irvine nodded. "Well, if you and me are here, everyone else should be here as well, somewhere. We just have to find them, I'm sure we will." Again, Irvine nodded in agreement. He was looking forward to regrouping with everyone, but how long was it going to be until they found Selphie? Irvine anxiously wanted to see her again. It seemed like it had been years since the last time they saw each other. Irvine grinned and remembered that it had probably been a few thousand years since the last time they saw each other. He stared back out into the ocean and continued to think.

Zell eventually left Irvine and went to talk to Wakka. The two of them talked for a while about Blitzball before Wakka regrouped his team for a bit of practice. Zell was having a blast practicing with the Besaid Aurochs and was getting excited for the tournament.

Like Irvine, Zell constantly thought about his friends. How long would it be until they all regrouped? He was anxious, too, about seeing the others and hoped that everyone had made it safely to Spira unharmed. For a moment he thought of the possibility that only Irvine and himself might had made it. _I woke up weeks ago, while Irvine woke up earlier today… What if we're the first two? Or what if the others woke up years ago? Hundreds of years ago? Or maybe it won't be until hundreds of years from now when they wake up… _Zell cringed at the thought. Luckily everyone had their GF's for protection.

After that thought he quickly checked to see if his GF's were there. He sat down for a moment and concentrated as hard as he could. He still had all of his magic, and it seemed surprisingly stronger than before, however, there were no signs of his GF's. Ifrit, Leviathan and Bahamut were gone. How could this be? Did they not exist in this world? After not finding his GF's, Zell hurried back over to Irvine.

"Irvine," Zell quivered, "I don't have my Guardian Forces anymore!" A shocked look fell upon Irvine's face. Quickly, he checked to see if his GF's were still with him.

Irvine's hope quickly turned to sorrow when he found none of his GF's. "What's going on?" he questioned. "I know I had them during that last battle with Ultimecia, I know I did!" He checked one more time just to make sure he wasn't over looking them in his mind. Again, he could not find them. How did he have magic junctioned though? Without a GF, he couldn't junction any sort of magic.

"The system must have changed then…" Zell pondered. Over the thousands of years that passed, the mental system in which one used to gain experience and magic must have dramatically changed. There were no longer Guardian Force's anymore. They must have disappeared from existence a long time ago and since then, the system had evolved.

"Well," Irvine sighed, " at least we still have our magic." Zell nodded slightly. They both sighed and looked towards the ocean. Evening was now falling upon them. The sun was setting, and the ocean glittered with the rays of light. The clouds glowed an ominous red and the sea began to churn. The evening carried on into night and Irvine and Zell decided to get some rest in the cabins below the deck. They slept in beds across from each other and talked for a few moments before drifting off to sleep.

They awoke to the sounds of a cheering crowd above deck. Before they could rub the sleep out of their eyes, they hurried themselves to the deck, where the others were. Lots of people crowded the streets of the large city while people flocked toward the large stadium where Blitzball was played. Zell was excited as he walked toward the front of the boat. Irvine followed behind him.

Minutes later, the boat had docked, and everyone was getting off. After getting off the boat, Irvine looked around in amazement. Zell smiled, remembering the first time he had been to Luca. Soon they found themselves devoured in a crowd of people flocking towards one of the other docks. "Why is everyone crowding around here?" Zell asked curiously.

"To witness the arrival of Grand Maester Mika," Lulu replied. Though it didn't seem like it, she wondered about the two strange boys who were tagging along. She wasn't sure if she believed their story because it seemed too farfetched to be true. Zell seemed pretty energetic, and almost looked like Wakka in a way, except for the blond hair and the tattoo. His clothes resembled what Tidus was wearing, yet they didn't look exactly alike. Lulu wasn't familiar with Irvine's style of clothing though. She had never seen a man walking around in a long coat and a hat like that. _The two of them share the same memories, so could their story possibly be true_? Lulu pondered to herself as the boat arrived.

_Maester? What the hell is a Maester? _Zell thought. He couldn't remember anyone ever mentioning a Maester to him, but figured it must be an important person of some sort. They waited as the boat docked and some music was played. Soon, an odd looking man announced the arrival of the Maester and an old man walked forward and looked down upon the crowd of people. Soon after, they announced another Maester: Seymour. Right when Irvine's eyes met his, he knew Seymour was going to be trouble. There was something about him that just made Irvine's stomach turn, the way he looked at Irvine, and his eerily calm voice. As Maester Seymour began to address the crowd, Irvine turned to Zell.

"There's something about this guy that I don't like," Irvine whispered to Zell. "There's just something about him that really creeps me out." Zell looked towards the Maester, who in turn, looked back at him and grinned a seemingly malevolent grin. It was as if he knew what they were just talking about.

"Yeah," Zell agreed turning back to Irvine, "there's definitely something about him I don't like…" They continued to listen to him babble about stuff they didn't know or even care about. Soon after, the Maesters had left for the stadium. A few players from the Blitzball teams still remained on the dock when an argument heated up between Wakka's Blitzball team and the Luca Goers. Suddenly, Tidus grabbed a megaphone and jumped on top of a few large crates.

"This year the Besaid Aurochs are going to win!" Tidus yelled over the crowd. "You hear that? Yeah that's right! We're going to win this year!" He continued on making a fool of himself and embarrassing Wakka, before eventually hopping down off of the large crates.

"What were you thinking, ya?" Wakka asked impatiently while the Luca Goers laughed, walking away towards the stadium. Irvine and Zell both shook their heads.

Eventually, they had made it over to the stadium and to the Aurochs locker room. Irvine and Zell decided to stay in the locker room the watch the game; it was too cluttered in the stadium bleachers. Irvine leaned against one of the cold metal lockers as he listened to Wakka talk to his team.

"Okay you guys," Wakka began, "we are playing the Luca Goers again." He stopped to hear the moans and groans from his team. They all looked hopeless. "But, this time we are starting the second round!" His team seemed to lighten up a little after hearing the news. "This means, if we win this game, we go on to the finals!" The team began to cheer. After some more words of encouragement, Yuna burst in through the door.

"Auron," Yuna said between gasps of air, "someone said they saw Sir Auron in the Luca Café!" Tidus looked up immediately.

"Auron?!" Tidus repeated. "Sorry Wakka, I've gotta go find Auron." With that, Tidus left with Yuna in search of this 'Sir Auron' guy. Irvine and Zell both looked at each other and shrugged.

Wakka went over the game plan several times and made sure everyone read through the rules again once more before the game. They had only about 10 minutes to prepare before their game was going to start. Zell leaned against the lockers next to Irvine and looked up at the monitor above. It was almost time to Blitz and Wakka gave some last words of encouragement before the game began.

"Remember to have fun. It's not always about winning, ya," Wakka stated. "This year we want to try our hardest, and this time beat those Luca Goers!" The team cheered once more and Wakka added with a bit of sadness in his voice, "After this game, whether we win or lose, I am retiring from Blitzball."


	4. Blitzball

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Three: Blitzball**

The Besaid Aurochs cheered one more time before they headed out into the Sphere Pool to play their game. They dreaded playing against the Luca Goers, but were more enthusiastic than ever this time around. It was the first time that they had ever made it into the second round. In the years before, they always played in the first round and lost, but this time they only had to win one game to get into the finals.

Though the team was sad that Wakka was going to retire, they kept their spirits up and went out to play their best game. Everyone was going to try their hardest this time and they were determined to win. Irvine and Zell waved them off as they left to enter the Sphere Pool.

Still leaning against the lockers, Irvine began to think again about everyone. Hopefully they were managing well by themselves. If not then they hopefully found someone else, just like Irvine had found Zell.

As the game began, they could hear the voices of two men over the intercom system announce the teams. Zell moved over to sit on the benches in front of the monitor and clenched his fists in excitement. The Luca Goers versus the Besaid Aurochs - who would be victorious?

As the team entered the Sphere Pool, confidence built up inside Wakka. He could already taste victory. He was going to play harder than he ever had before; he was ready to give it his all. Wakka swam to his position in the center, and on either side of him were Datto and Letty. Keeping up the defense in the back were Botta and Jassu.

The Luca Goers entered from the other side of the Sphere Pool as the anxious crowd in the stadium began to cheer even louder. Wakka swam forward to shake hands with the captain of the Luca Goers, but the captain pulled his own hand away before Wakka would shake it, and he swam away to laugh with his team. The stadium roared with laughter as Wakka swam back to his position, slightly infuriated.

Several moments passed before the Luca Goers were all in order. The ball started at the centre of the Sphere Pool and shot up. As the two captians from both team swam aggressively towards the ball, Letty covered the left side of the under water field. Successfully, Wakka managed to capture the ball and he began to swim vigorously towards the net. He was encountered by two men on the opposing team. They smirked as they each took a turn to take blows at Wakka, who still swam strong after the beating.

Quickly, Wakka passed it to his right towards his team mate Datto who in turn, caught the ball but was also encountered by one of the opposing team. Datto immediately tried to pass the ball back to Botta, but failed when the opponent on the other team caught it.

As the Luca Goer swam towards the Aurochs' goal, Datto chased after him. He swam as fast as he could, but didn't catch up until he had run into Botta. Now the player on the opposing team had two Aurochs to break through. He barely flinched as Datto and Botta broke through him. He continued to swim towards the Aurochs goal when he was abruptly encountered by a tough looking Wakka who wasn't about to let this guy take a shot. He swam in his spot firmly and was going to take anything, but he wouldn't let him pass.

The Luca Goer just stayed there for a moment and looked around at his options. He could try to pass it to a team mate, or he could take the shot himself, otherwise he would have to break through Wakka. He re-thought it for a moment then decided what he would do; he attempted to shoot the ball towards the goal. Wakka immediately threw his arms out in the way of the ball and took off half of its power. It continued to spin rigorously towards Keepa. The large goalie got ready to catch the ball as it speedily came towards him. He brought his hands together and stopped the ball from entering the goal. Keepa then passes it over to Jassu who was on his left.

Jassu swam with the ball for a few moments before he was encountered by the captain of the Luca Goers. Without hesitation, Jassu passed the ball towards Letty. Bickson jumped in the way of the ball and made it lose some of its momentum. Luckily, it still made it to Letty before it completely lost its spin. He took the ball and began to swim towards the Goers goal. Before he could get there though, he saw two of them coming his way.

Letty didn't want to have to go through the trouble of breaking through them, so before they could get any closer to him, he stopped and looked around for someone to pass it to. Datto had swam back up near the Goers goal and Wakka was still near Jassu. Out of the two of them, the only one he could really pass to was Datto, and so without a second thought, Letty tossed the ball in Datto's direction.

In the locker room, Irvine and Zell continued to watch as the game progressed. It was already two minutes into the first half, and still no one had scored a single goal. Both of them cheered for the Besaid Aurochs as the game continued. Irvine shuffled a bit and adjusted his hat before joining Zell on the bench in front of the monitor.

Datto was instantly in a dilemma. He had the captain _and_ another player from the Goers opposing him. Datto wasn't going to give up, so he broke through Bickson, with just a few breaths left to spare. Datto then tried to shoot the ball, but was unsuccessful. The member of the Goers turned around with the ball and flung it back to Bickson who had swam up a few feet. Datto began to chase him as he swam towards the Aurochs goal with the ball.

Suddenly Bickson found himself face to face with the captain of the Aurochs. Bickson smirked as he looked at Wakka's expression. He knew Wakka wasn't going to let him pass, so the Luca Goer pulled together all of his strength and charged. Wakka stayed strong as Bickson came towards him with full force. Wakka felt a sharp pain shoot through his stomach that almost completely knocked the breath out of him, leaving him floating lifelessly for a moment.

Bickson scoffed and swam right in front of the Aurochs' goal and without any trouble, shot into it. Keepa tried his best, but the ball was too fast and it sped right by him. The Luca Goers got the first goal at the three minute mark.

Wakka regained himself as the new round started. He swam to the centre again and thought to himself, _I hope nobody saw that last hit… _Wakka wasn't too happy about the goal that the Luca Goers just got. Once again, the ball was centred and seconds later it rocketed upwards. Wakka swam as fast as he could, but the pain in his stomach slowed him down just enough for Bickson to snatch the ball that was just out of reach from Wakka. Before Bickson could go any further though, Wakka swam right into him. Datto and Letty had both swam up next to Wakka for support.

_I'm gunna get this guy good_, Letty thought to himself. After seeing this guy knee the captain in the gut, Letty thought he should turn the tables and see how Bickson liked knee in his gut. Letty summoned all his strength and aggressively swam towards Bickson and brought his knee to Bickson's stomach who flinched, but didn't give up the ball. _What's with this guy? _Letty watched as Wakka got ready for his turn. He knew Bickson wouldn't hold together much longer, so he saved his strength for power swimming after he had gotten the ball.

Only a minute remained in the first half of the game. Wakka shouldered Bickson and snatched the ball away from him then swam towards the goal. This was it, it was all clear, the team members on the opposing team weren't anywhere near their goal to help stop the ball. Wakka took this opportunity to shoot the ball. He made sure to get up close and personal with the goal. He shot from only a few feet away. Only seconds remained in the game now.

Everyone in the stadium was off of their seats watching as the ball went into the goal. Wakka leaned back and grinned. The game was now tied. The goal keeper looked down in disappointment. Bickson sneered as Wakka swam by him. Wakka thought nothing of it and took his spot again. There were only ten seconds left in the first half now. The ball was centred and shot up into the air, but before anyone could grab it, the buzzer sounded the end of the first half of the game. The teams both swam to their exits.

In the locker room, Irvine and Zell waited for their return. The Aurochs came in cheering. They all had smiles on their faces. "Great job you guys," Irvine congratulated. They all sat down on the benches and regained their strength as Wakka talked to them.

"That was great, ya!" Wakka cheered. The rest of the teamed cheered as well. "It's half time and we're tied. If we manage to get a goal in the second half, we could win this game!" Wakka scanned the room for Tidus but he hadn't returned yet. He tried to hide a worried look and silently prayed to Yevon that the blonde boy would show up soon.

Irvine and Zell decided to step out of the locker room for a moment as the Aurochs took a break during half-time. They leaned against the wall outside the locker room and both kind of stared off in deep thought.

Meanwhile on one of the docks not too far from them, Tidus, Lulu and Kimahri were battling their way through Al Bhed robots. "What's with these things?" Tidus questioned. The damn robots were everywhere and they seemed to never end. After a battle with them, they would almost instantly be encountered by more of them. After hearing that Yuna was kidnapped by some of the Al Bhed's they were determined to get her back, even if it would take a thousand of these robots to get to her.

"Come on," Lulu decided, "cut through these ones, we have to get to Yuna." They cut through a group of robots and made it to one of the docks just as a boat was exiting. They all quickly ran and jumped aboard before the boat went any further. Before they could go anywhere, the Al Bhed's had a small trick up their sleeves. A huge robot like object appeared before their eyes. It was pretty big, and just by the looks of it, they knew this was going to be a tough battle.

Kimahri started the battle by using Lancet. As Tidus took his turn, Lulu pondered which type of magic to use. She already knew not to use fire because it would not have much effect on the huge robot. It was her turn now, and she quickly threw together a blizzard spell. It didn't do a lot of damage to the robot. "Try using lightning magic next time," Tidus suggested. Lulu nodded. The robot then took its turn and depleted some of Kimahri's health. Lulu noticed that there was a crane next to Tidus that could probably help them, so instead of using her turn to cast thunder on the robot, she decided to cast the spell on the crane. It jolted a little then sparked.

"See if you can get that crane to work," Lulu shouted to Tidus. On his next turn, Tidus ran over to the crane and tried turning it on, but it didn't have enough energy. Tidus shook his head as he returned to his position. The crane needed more power for it to work. Again, the giant robot took a turn, but this time got Tidus. He flinched as his health went down. It was a hard hit that left Tidus with little HP left. Lulu took another turn and cast thunder on the crane again. Kimahri took a swipe at the large robot and depleted some of its HP.

Both Kimahri and Tidus had to rely on their physical attacks since they have yet to learn any magic. On Tidus' next turn, instead of checking the crane, he decided to help Kimahri in bringing down the robots HP. The battle went back and forth as each side took a turn to attack. Lulu kept casting thunder on the crane, while Tidus and Kimahri were attacking the robot machine.

Tidus had lost a lot of health and could barely hold his sword up. On his next turn, he thought for sure that the crane would work, so he ran over and turned it on, this time it was successful. Tidus directed the crane over to the robot and tried to lift up the whole thing, but instead ripped off the top half of it. This gave them a great advantage in the battle.

On Kimahri's next turn, he used a potion to replenish some of Tidus' lost HP. Now all three of them focused on attacking the half destroyed robot. The battle was soon to be over. Lulu used her last ounce of MP to cast one more thunder spell on it. The robot only had a few hundred health points left. Tidus and Kimahri took the last few hits and destroyed it. After it was destroyed, they got Yuna back.

"Oh thank you so much," Yuna thanked them. They smiled and escorted her off the boat. They then headed back to the locker room where Wakka awaited Tidus' return. The Al Bhed monsters had left the docks, so there weren't any encounters with any more robots.

"Where have you been, ya?" Wakka questioned. He didn't wait for Tidus to answer, but instead decided to go over the game plan. "Okay, if you get the ball, pass it over to Tidus here." The team nodded. The second half of the game was about to begin. After a few encouraging words, Wakka was ready to send his team out into the Sphere Pool.

"Uh, will I be sitting out?" Botta asked Wakka just before they headed out into the Sphere Pool for the second half of the game.

Wakka shook his head. "No, I'll be warming the bench this time," Wakka stated. "Now get out there and win the game!" He added with a cheer. Botta nodded and he and the rest of the team headed out into the Sphere Pool. The Luca Goers had just arrived at their positions on the playing field. Tidus took Wakka's spot as the centre. Both teams got ready for the ball. As they waited, Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri had taken their seats in the stadium. Yuna began to cheer on the Aurochs. The stadium roared with the chants of the cheering fans.

Soon the second half of the anticipated game began. The ball was centred and then shot upward. Both Tidus and Bickson swam towards the ball. Bickson was successful in catching the ball, and he headed down the left side of the Sphere Pool where he encountered Letty and Jassu. They both tried to stop him, but Letty wasn't powerful enough to stop him. Jassu tried to stop him from throwing the ball across, but just skimmed the side of the ball, taking only a little bit of its momentum. The ball successfully made it to the other side of the Sphere Pool where one of the Goers caught it. He swam towards the Aurochs goal fiercely, attempting to get close enough for a shot. He was being chased down by Datto and Botta. Soon, they caught up to him and managed to snag the ball.

Quickly, Botta took the ball and immediately passed it across to Letty, who swam towards the Goers goal on an angle, making sure not to encounter any of the opposing team members. He waited for Tidus to get open so he could pass the ball to him. After moments of swimming, Letty finally decided to pass the ball to Tidus, who was only a few yards away from him.

Swiftly, Tidus caught the ball and began to swim towards the Goers goal. Three of the Goers encountered him before he could go any further. It was going to be a real problem for Tidus to get through these guys. He decided to only let one of them try to break through, and then try shooting. He was still swimming after the first guy broke through him. This was a good sign. Tidus then tried to shoot the ball, but it didn't have enough strength to get beyond the arms of the third man that he had encountered.

The game was already nearing the two minute mark, and no one had gotten a second goal yet. Everyone in the Sphere Pool stopped as they heard the people of the stadium begin to chant Wakka's name. The whole stadium was cheering for Wakka to get back into the game. Tidus swam in the middle of the Sphere Pool, a feeling of disappointment arose in his mind. He felt as though he failed Wakka and wasn't good enough to play. He swam back down to the exit to the locker room and let Wakka into the game. Tidus sat on the bench in the locker room and watched the rest of the game on the monitor.

The stadium cheered as they saw Wakka emerge from the entrance to the Sphere Pool. The ball was centred again as the players went back to their spots. The ball was then shot up and Wakka managed to catch the ball. He instantly passed it back to Botta. Wakka was trying to put one of his game plans to work. If it worked out just right, the Aurochs could be ending the game as the winners for once. Botta new right away that Wakka was trying to put one of his plans into play so he headed back towards their own goal, and directed the attention of the Goers to himself. Before they could get close enough to encounter him though, Botta tossed the ball over to Jassu who immediatly tossed the ball over to Letty without moving.

It was now Letty's turn with the ball. He swam to the very outer edge of the pool as Wakka got in front of the Goers goal. Bickson caught on to what was going on and instantly bolted towards Wakka. Letty passed the ball across the Sphere Pool to Datto who had to pass the ball right away because one of the Luca Goers was just behind him. Quickly, he passed the ball to Wakka, who instantly turned around to face the goal. Before he had a chance to shoot though, Bickson swam right in front of him.

Only half a minute was left in the game. It could still go either way. It all came down to this one shot. If Wakka missed, he could only hope that the Luca Goers wouldn't be able to make it down to the Aurochs goal in time to get one more goal that would take the Besaid Aurochs right out of the tournament.


	5. Take the Highroad

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Four: Take the Highroad**

Wakka focused on making the goal. With only thirty seconds remaining in the game, Wakka couldn't afford to miss this shot. It became very suspenseful to watch. It all came down to this one last shot. The crowd in the stadium held their breath as Wakka brought his foot back. Bickson leaned forward a bit and grinned. _He'll never make this shot in a million years_, he thought to himself. He prepared himself to stop the ball that Wakka was going to attempt to make a goal with.

Time seemed like it had slowed down to a crawl. Everyone who wasn't already standing up from their seats was sitting on the edge, clenching their fists and biting their lips. The crowd gasped as Wakka brought his foot to meet the ball. He had put so much force into the ball that Bickson was unable to stop it. Wakka prayed to Yevon that the ball would go into the net. If he could win just this one last game, he could retire happily.

As the goalie got ready to catch the shot, the time ticked away. Everyone in the stadium was now standing to watch as the ball flew towards the net. Everyone on both teams stopped and turned around as the ball entered the net and hit the inside, making the buzzer sound. The Aurochs were now leading the game two to one. Wakka stopped breathing for a moment as he realized that the ball had gone into the net. Only a few seconds remained in the game.

The ball was centred and the teams took their positions again. The Aurochs knew that they had already won the game. The Luca Goers refused to accept defeat and gave it their all in the last fifteen seconds that remained in the game. Bickson fiercely snatched the ball as it shot up, and he swam towards the goal, eluding any of the Aurochs that were near him.

The Luca Goers' reputation would be scarred forever if the Besaid Aurochs had beaten them - a pathetic team that never made it past round one in any previous tournament. Only ten seconds remained in the game as Bickson made a desperate attempt to shoot at the net from far away. Unfortunately for him, the ball had bounced off the side of the goal post and the buzzer sounded for the end of the game. Everyone began to cheer. The whole team came together in the Sphere Pool for a big team hug. Tidus also entered the Sphere Pool to join in the victory.

Shortly after the team had rejoiced over their win, the Sphere Pool was invaded by monsters. In fact, the whole stadium had monsters running loose. Wakka and Tidus fended off the monsters as both of the teams swam for their lives out of the pool.

Outside the stadium, Irvine and Zell could hear the screams of people inside. "What the hell's going on?" Zell tilted his head in confusion. "Those aren't cheers of happiness… They sound terrified!" Just then, hundreds of people started pouring out the stadium entrance. Irvine and Zell broke through the crowd to get into the stadium.

Monsters of all sorts were everywhere. Tidus and Wakka could still be seen in the middle of the Sphere Pool fending off the swimming monsters. Irvine pulled out his gun and Zell readied his fists for battle. After a few moments had passed, Wakka and Tidus exited the Sphere Pool. After killing a strange looking monster, Zell glanced behind him and saw a man in red clothes kill the same type of monster with only a single stroke of his blade. As it disappeared, Tidus and Wakka came running into the stadium.

"Auron?!" Tidus yelled, being a bit surprised to see him. Auron looked behind him to see a confused blonde boy. Just as they met up, they were encountered by a large flying bird. Zell and Irvine decided to join them and battle off the large fiend. Zell couldn't attack the monster because it was too high in the air, so he was forced to use magic, which he wasn't really good at.

Irvine had an advantage in this battle because he had a long range weapon, and could shoot the flying monster. After a few exchanging blows, the monster seemed to instantly die. The group looked up into the stands to see a large, ominous looking creature. Maester Seymour had summoned his Aeon, Anima, to destroy the remaining monsters in the stadium. The people stopped frolicking around in horror and watched as the giant Aeon obliterated the fiends.

_What the hell is that thing? _Zell pondered to himself, his fists still clenched from the earlier battle. The look on Seymour's face was most ominous as he watched his Aeon defeat the remaining monsters in the stadium. How they appeared in the first place was a mystery.

The gunslinger tucked away his gun and turned to his blonde friend with a confused look. Zell noticed him and shrugged, indicating that he understood Irvine's silent question. They were both wondering where the hell the large creature came from, and if it was like a GF, but of the future.

After a few moments Yuna, Lulu, Wakka and Kimahri began walking towards the town center where the Luca Café was. Auron and Tidus stayed behind for a few moments. Irvine and Zell trailed a little ways behind the young Summoner and her Guardians.

Wakka's teammates caught up with the group in time for a final farewell. Wakka gave them some words of encouragement before his team nodded with sad, but determined looks on their faces. His team departed back to the Luca Stadium and Wakka began talking to the others, "Do you think they're all going to stay here?"

"Sir Auron knows Tidus apparently, and Irvine found one of his friends," Lulu replied gesturing at the two boys trailing behind them. In the distance she could see Sir Auron and Tidus walking towards them. They passed by Irvine and Zell and approached Yuna.

"Sir Auron?" Yuna questioned, looking at the two of them.

"Yuna," Auron replied.

"Sir?" Yuna wondered why he had returned with the young blonde Blitzer.

"I wish to become your Guardian. Do you accept?" He asked her, staring at her through his shades.

"You serious?" Wakka blurted out.

"You refuse?" Auron countered.

Yuna was quick to reply, "No, no! We accept, right everyone?" They all nodded in agreement eagerly.

"But why?" Lulu asked.

"I promised Braska." Auron replied simply.

"You promised my father? Thank you Sir Auron, you're welcome to join us!" Yuna sounded delighted. The rough looking man had accompanied her father ten years ago during his pilgrimage as a Summoner and Yuna felt it was an extreme honor to have Sir Auron as her Guardian.

"And… he comes too," Auron tugged Tidus forward, "This one, I promised Jecht." After glancing behind him momentarily he noticed Irvine and Zell standing behind him. "Who are they?" he questioned sternly.

"Oh," Yuna said, "this is Irvine and Zell… We found them, and I think Sin's toxin may have gotten to them." Irvine and Zell both looked at each other and shrugged it off.. Auron didn't seem too enthralled to see the two of them with Yuna and the group. Zell shuffled uneasily as the man in red looked them up and down.

They continued to the entrance of the Highroad when Yuna and Tidus broke off from the group. Irvine and Zell were hesitant now to stay with the group, sensing that they weren't exactly wanted to stick around. As long as they had each other, they should be fine, right? They'd figure out what to do by themselves, after all, Zell was a SeeD and Irvine an Ace Marksman. He may not be a certified SeeD, but he sure as hell proved his worth with the others.

Moments later, Tidus was laughing, and it sounded not quite natural, but not forced either. Yuna joined him and they both continued in their strange behavior for a few more moments before they settled down. After regrouping again, they continued onto the Mi'Ihen Highroad. Irvine and Zell continued to trail behind them a little ways.

"Man, this sucks. You think we'll ever find the rest of them?" Zell asked nervously. "What if we were the only ones that woke up here?!" Zell began to get worried that they would never find anyone else in Spira. _What if they fell out of Time Compression a few years ago? Maybe a hundred years ago? _Zell thought to himself.

"We'll find them," Irvine reassured him. "I have a feeling we'll be a group again sometime soon. I know we will!" Irvine put on a big smile as he thought of Selphie. Soon he would be able to see the perky petite brunette.

Zell began to speak again and asked, "Do you think we'll ever make it back to our own time?" This was something Irvine wasn't too sure of. There might not be someone strong enough, that has enough power to make another rift in time to start another Time Compression. There could be other ways though of getting back, but Irvine wasn't positive if it was possible at all.

"You know what," Irvine thought, "I don't know." A gentled breeze blew past them as Irvine thought. The sun was now high in the afternoon sky, but the heat was bearable. "We can only pray to Hyne that we will get back to our own time… And hope that we get another chance to defeat Ultimecia. I can't believe we lost!" Irvine shouted. The group ahead looked back for a moment as Irvine's face turned red with embarrassment. Irvine let out a nervous little chuckle then turned to Zell. "Let's just worry about what's going on right now, okay?" Irvine stated.

Zell then changed the subject. "Did you check out Lulu?" he asked with a slight giggle. "Like woah! Total cleavage!" Irvine quickly covered Zell's mouth before he could say anymore. Hearing her name, Lulu turned her head around to see what the commotion was about. Irvine smiled at her and she gave him an odd look. Zell gave a fake smile and as soon as Lulu turned around he bit Irvine's hand so he would let him go. Irvine shook his hand for a moment as the pain drained away. Zell stuck his tongue out and stated, "Well, she _does_ show a lot of cleavage, if you hadn't noticed."

"Of all the people you know, you think I hadn't already noticed?" Irvine grinned. Zell's attitude made Irvine cheer up a bit. _Thank Hyne Seifer isn't around to piss him off_, Irvine thought. Zell continued to talk about different things, sliding off topic every once in a while, somehow always ending up on the subject of hot dogs, or how he never did get his T-Board back from Garden.

The Highroad seemed to go on and on, never ending. They walked along it for what seemed like forever before something remotely interesting happened. The group was stopped by a couple of crusaders riding Chocobo's. One of them began to talk, facing Yuna.

"Lady Yuna," she said, "it's an honour." She explained how they were the Chocobo Knights, and they were to patrol the Highroad for fiends, so the people would not have to deal with them. She continued talking as Irvine and Zell began talking to each other once again.

"Hey," Irvine noticed, "they have Chocobo's in Spira too! At least not everything has changed!" Zell looked over at the large yellow bird. It looked exactly how he remembered it. "Now we know for sure we aren't in another world…" he then added. A flame of hope ignited in Irvine - he knew he would be able to find Selphie here, one way or another. They both tuned back into the conversation between the lady and Yuna.

"Well, we need to get back to our patrol," she ended the conversation and left with her comrades.

They had only walked a few steps before they were engaged in another conversation. A woman wearing an odd looking dress began to speak to Yuna. Irvine and Zell had noticed that a lot of the people they came across dressed very differently from themselves. And to those people, Irvine and Zell were dressed strangely. Their clothing reminded them of Esthar, and how the people dressed there.

"Yuna, I presume," she said in a calm voice. Yuna nodded. "I am Belgimine and I am offering you a challenge. Not of fighting, but of summoning skills. Do you accept my challenge?" Yuna seemed a bit bewildered that this woman would challenge her to an Aeon duel. "I want to test your skills, as a summoner," she added. Yuna thought for a few moments.

"I accept your challenge," Yuna answered. Everyone stepped back as they engaged the Aeon battle. Belgimine started by summoning Ifrit. Irvine looked at Zell who had a shocked look on his face. _Ifrit is still around, even after thousands of years?! _they both thought to themselves. The large beastly fire Aeon towered over them. What Irvine and Zell found most odd, was that Ifrit stayed in battle, and did not do anything until Yuna had summoned her Aeon. A large winged Aeon flew down from above. The fight was about to begin. Each Aeon took turns in smiting the other. They followed the commands of their summoner. Yuna would call out to her Aeon, and it would do as she said.

The battle became intense as both Aeons were left with little health. Yuna wasn't going to give up though. She knew that Valefor was ready for an Overdrive and this could end the battle. After taking a blow from Ifrit, Yuna shouted out to Valefor to use his Overdrive. Belgimine had a smile on her face as she saw Valefor deplete the rest of Ifrit's HP. "That is enough," she told Yuna. "You can call off your Aeon now." Yuna nodded. They both called off their Aeons. After the battle Belgimine gave Yuna an item.

"It's good to see you are strong with your Aeons," Belgimine said happily. "Maybe we will meet again on your pilgrimage, and I shall challenge you once more." After that she just sort of walked off onto the Highroad. Irvine and Zell were still a bit confused about the whole Aeon thing. They didn't act like Guardian Forces anymore, yet some of them were the same. Why couldn't they use their GF's if they still existed in Spira, but as Aeons?

"Hey Irvine," Zell began to talk, "ah, never mind… I don't want to get anymore confused than I already am." _Oh well_, Zell thought to himself, _I guess Aeons have replaced Guardian Forces then. _They continued walking along the Highroad, bumping into fiends every now and then.

Eventually they made it to a small inn where they stopped to rest for a while. Irvine noticed that this Sir Auron guy was keeping an eye on them, making Irvine feel a bit uncomfortable. He turned to Zell and began to talk, "You think we can handle it from here?" Irvine tilted his head slightly towards Auron. Zell glanced over and back to Irvine before nodding in agreement.

"They seem to be on their own journey anyway," Zell stated. "They probably don't want us bumming around all the time."

"If we're by ourselves it'll give us more time to really check things out anyway," Irvine pointed out. Zell nodded. Irvine informed Yuna of their decision and thanked her for helping him find one of his friends. As Yuna and the others were about to head out, they said their goodbyes.

Before they stepped out of the inn though, they heard a loud noise from outside. "The Chocobo's!" the shrill voice of a woman could be heard from outside the inn. "Someone save the Chocobo's!" Everyone rushed outside to find a girl wearing blue fending off a huge monster. Without thinking, she looked over to the group who had just rushed out from the inn. The large monster swung its giant arms towards her and knocked her off of her feet. Irvine and Zell immediately ran over to her.

"Rinoa?!" Zell yelled out to her. She slowly got up to her feet and looked towards Zell and Irvine. She was a bit dizzy from the hit, but she recovered from it. "We'll take care of this one!" Zell shouted as his fists punched the air.

"It's good to see you guys!" Rinoa shouted as they began to battle.

"It's good to see you too, Rin!" Irvine shouted back at her. It was a good thing they had gotten to the inn when they did, otherwise Rinoa would have been in trouble. They each took turns hitting the monster. It didn't seem to give up. Rinoa used her weapon, Shooting Star, and sliced the monster on the side of its head. This only made the monster more angry. It thrust himself forward at them and forced them to move back further. Zell then ran up to it and managed to knock it off of its feet. They now had an advantage in the battle. They began to use magic, as it was working better than their attacks.

Irvine scanned it to see what its weakness was, and found out it was fire. "Its weakness is fire!" Irvine shouted to Zell and Rinoa, who in turn nodded back. Rinoa immediately used Firaga on the monster. It was the strongest fire magic she had. The monster then took a turn and got up onto its feet and pushed them even closer to the edge. The battle wasn't going so well. They refused to let the others help them though. Rinoa knew the edge of the cliff wasn't too far from behind them. She knew the drop wasn't too far down, and if the monster wouldn't let up, they might have to jump.

Again, they used their fire magic to put the monster to rest, but the huge thing didn't give in. The magic was doing tremendous amounts of damage, yet the monster still did not fall to its feat. "Don't worry guys, we'll be fine!" Rinoa gestured to the cliff behind her.

"Are you crazy, Rin?!" Zell shouted back as he glanced over at the cliffside.

"Just trust me on this one, 'kay?" she shouted back to the two boys.

The monster took one of its heaping arms and suddenly swung it at the trio who were knocked back even closer to the edge. Rinoa gestured to go over the edge as a shout could be heard from Wakka, "We'll take care of it from here, ya!" The three of them went over the edge as the other group moved in to finish the battle.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the other ones. I felt I needed to stop it right there, heh… Anyways, I hope you are liking the story so far. Yay! They found Rinoa! What will happen next? Stay tuned =P


	6. Split Apart

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Five: Split Apart**

Irvine toppled over a few lumps of grass before he stopped rolling. Rinoa toppled over him and Zell fell right beside them. They had fallen to the bottom of the gorge, and it was very painful. _How could we have lost that simple battle? _Irvine thought to himself. They all laid on the hard dirt and grass for a moment while they regained themselves.

They had taken quite a painful fall. "Oh man… The pain…" Zell mumbled under his breath as he began to get up to his feet. He wobbled for a moment before he was balanced. Zell had some Cura spells, and used them on Rinoa, Irvine and himself. He then helped them both to their feet.

"Thanks," Rinoa thanked him. "I didn't think it was _that _far down…" They all looked up to the cliff above.

"'Trust me' you said," Irvine grimaced. "Don't think I'll be trusting your judgment again after this one, Rin." Her eyes glared at him as she stuck her tongue out. Irvine readjusted his cowboy hat and brushed the dirt off this clothes.

"This sucks you guys…" Zell's face sunk. "Now how are we supposed to know where we're going?!" He then got angry and started to punch the air in fury. After a moment, he stopped and looked down at the ground. "This sucks!"

"Calm down!" Rinoa put her hands on her hips and titled her head. "This path must lead us somewhere, let's get going!"

Zell looked up from the ground to see two sets of eyes on him - one pair of deep brown eyes and another pair of sea blue eyes. He looked over to the other side of the gorge. There was a path they could take, but he wasn't sure if it would lead them back to the top.

"Did you guys, by any chance, see Squall at all?" Rinoa's eyes gleamed with hope. Irvine and Zell both looked at her and shook their heads. "Oh… Oh, okay…" her voice sounding disappointed. _I hope we find him soon_, Rinoa thought. Hopefully he too, had made it into this world. With Squall by her side, Rinoa felt safe, so she was determined to find him. She held the ring on her necklace that Squall had given to her. _We'll find you, I promise._

"Hey," Irvine took charge, "come on, let's get going. Standing around here isn't going to get us any closer to finding anyone." He began to walk ahead of Rinoa and Zell, in hopes that they would follow. Sure enough he heard their footsteps following behind him. After only a few steps, they had encountered monsters.

"Great, now we have to fight monsters," Zell complained as he cracked his knuckles.

"Wait," Irvine stalled. "Let's just test a few things in this battle. I've been meaning to do this, but I keep forgetting." Irvine concentrated on one of the monsters and attempted to draw magic from it. After a moment, nothing happened. "Well, I guess Draw doesn't work," Irvine figured. "This is so confusing…" He shook his head.

Even though he knew he couldn't find his GF's, Zell tried to summon one of them. As hard as he tried, no Guardian Force was summoned. "What's going on?" Rinoa asked. When her turn came, she tried to summon one of her GF's, but to no avail. Nothing could be summoned.

"We can't summon our Guardian Forces for some reason…" Zell told Rinoa as he blocked an attack from a monster. "In Spira, they have 'Aeons' that are sort of like our Guardian Forces, all I know is that they have Ifrit." He added as he countered the attack from the monster. As it disappeared, Irvine took his turn and shot one of the other monsters and killed it. There was one monster left, that closely resembled a Blobra. Rinoa used her Shooting Star and sliced it in half. After the battle, they came upon a clearing and decided to sit down for a moment to figure out what was going on.

"So, we can't summon our Guardian Forces," Zell started to speak, "but we still have all of our magic, yet we can't draw it from monsters." Irvine looked up to the clouds in the sky, as if searching for an answer. They all thought for a moment.

"This is really confusing…" Rinoa sighed. "I'm sure we must still have our Guardian Forces somewhere."

"I dunno," Irvine began, "I think they disappeared in time or something. We're still technically in our world… but thousands of years beyond our time. They could have died off during the Time Compression or who knows?" He thought about it for a moment.

"At least now we know for sure we can't summon them." Zell stated. "Dude, I'm gunna miss them."

"Okay, so this means that all we can use is our magic and weapons," Irvine said.

"And fists," Zell added on with a grin, looking at his fists.

"And fists," Irvine laughed. "Anyway, lets get going. We have friends to be finding!" Rinoa and Zell nodded and they set off to find their friends. After a few battles and quite a ways of walking, they came upon a small clearing with a few people walking around, and a few empty cage-like things. They saw a man standing in front of a gate that barricaded a path. Irvine, Zell and Rinoa walked up to the man.

"Sorry, you may not pass," the man told them.

"What's going on?" Irvine asked.

"The Mi'ihen Operation," the man answered. "While the operation is in place, you may not pass."

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do then?" Zell asked.

"Wait until it's done," the man answered.

"Pfft, that's just great," Zell said sarcastically. They turned around and began walking back towards the path they came from.

"We're just gunna give up?" Rinoa questioned angrily. She looked at Irvine who had a smirk on his face.

"Of course not," Irvine grinned. "There's gotta be another way to get beyond that gate, and we're gunna find it!"

Zell scratched his head. "I'm all up for that, but how the hell are we gunna sneak past all these people?"

"I dunno," Irvine answered. "Well, if we climb over the gorge wall, I'm sure we'll get over to the other side. Who's with me?" After a moment of hesitation, Rinoa and Zell followed Irvine's lead.

"What if there are guards or something on the other side?" Zell questioned.

"We'll fight 'em!" Rinoa replied with a determined look.

Out of sight, they began to climb the wall and eventually got over to a ledge on the other side. They suddenly found themselves looking down into a very large crevice. They had no choice but to go down into it. They would get caught if they went along the path, so they carefully climbed down to the bottom. After a few minutes, they had made it down to the bottom. They followed the path below, until the path above was out of sight from the man guarding the gates above.

"I think it's out of sight now," Zell informed Irvine. They all looked up to the path above. "Umm… How are we going to climb this wall? It's almost flat!" They were stuck. The walls all along were almost completely flat.

"I have an idea," Rinoa cheered. "We can use Float magic to lift us up there!" It was a good idea, but when they tried to cast Float, nothing could be conjured - nothing happened.

"The hell?" Zell looked at the other two with a confused look. "I know I can cast that magic, but what the hell? Why isn't it working?"

"Damn," Irvine vented. "It probably doesn't exist."

"How does magic just disappear?!" Zell shook his head.

"I don't know," Rinoa answered, "but bickering about it won't get us any closer to the path above. Let's see if we can climb the wall further down." She led the two confused boys down along the path a little bit farther, where the gorge wall actually had substantial walls to climb.

When they had finally made it up to the path, they all gave a sigh of relief. Security wasn't as tight on the path. They could now continue their journey to find the rest of their friends. They passed many people on the way, and none of them seemed to pay any attention to them. Their minds were on the mission.

They finally made it to a small clearing that looked like a war zone. There were many people standing at canon like guns that aimed out to the ocean. People wearing armor were walking around the site as well.

"Wha?" Zell scratched his head. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it looked like these people were ready to blast something to pieces.

"What's going on?" Rinoa finished Zell's sentence. She continued to look around at the people walking by her. They were all equipping themselves, getting ready for a battle.

"Operation Mi'ihen," a man's voice answered. Rinoa, Irvine and Zell turned around to face two men. "They are preparing to take out Sin," he finished his sentence.

"They plan to blast Sin with just these things?" Irvine laughed. He looked at the men that were waiting next to their canons. _If Sin is as bad as they say he his, I don't think these canons and a couple of armored people are going to bring him down…_

"Of course not!" He laughed in return. "We have an entire army assembled on the beach below, and a laser canon that uses machina built by the Al Bhed."

"Oh," Irvine let out a low whistle. "Well… We wish you the best of luck with that."

"We're going to need it," he replied. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized, "my name is Luzzu, and this here is Gatta." The younger man who stood next to him smiled and greeted Rinoa and the others with a handshake. Then Rinoa shook hands with Luzzu. Suddenly, she felt detached from life for a moment as a thousand things flashed in her mind. She saw a man laying in two pieces on the beach. He looked exactly like Luzzu. As soon as she let go of his hand, she came back to the present.

"Sir," The young Crusader Gatta tapped Luzzu's shoulder, "it's about to begin, we should be going now, sir."

"Right!" Luzzu replied. "Well, I guess I shall see you later." He turned around and walked away with Gatta. Rinoa was still shocked from what she had seen when she shook hands with Luzzu. Although she didn't understand it, she was compelled to tell the man before he left, but she didn't notice him leave. She looked at Irvine and Zell with a worried face.

"You okay Rin?" Irvine asked. She looked as if she had seen a ghost, the expression on her faced worried the two boys.

"No… It's nothing," Rinoa replied. "Just got a lot on my mind, that's all." She worried for Luzzu, and was hoping what she had experienced was just her imagination. Moments later, shouts could be heard all over the site. People were shouting Sin's name as he appeared from the ocean. Irvine, Rinoa and Zell all looked over to see the huge monster rise from the depths of the placid ocean.

"Get out of here!" A man said with a strong accent. He gestured for them to leave the premises immediately. The man turned back around and headed toward a canon. Irvine didn't want to leave; he wanted to see what was going on.

Instead of leaving, they headed over to the opposite side where people were standing around watching as the battle went on. As they went through the curtained area, they saw Yuna and the others. Before they could shout out to them, a large blast came from the area they had just exited and the Sinspawn were let out of their cages into the ocean to lure Sin closer.

"FIRE!" One of the men shouted as they began to fire the canons at the large fiend. Before Yuna's group could do anything, they were encountered by a Sinspawn that flew up from the sea. Irvine and the others decided to stay away from the battle. Yuna and her Guardians could surely take care of it. After a while of fighting, they managed to put down the Sinspawn.

The army down below on the beach began to charge the waters, heading towards Sin. "Let's go!" Luzzu commanded his troops. They wielded all sorts of weapons, and some even had magic. He lead his crew into the ocean, charging towards Sin. Their efforts were no match for the destructive beast. Before they could even get halfway to him, Sin had blasted a barrier upon them. A wave of power crashed through the people.

Luzzu was thrown back onto the wet sand of the beach. Everything, and everyone that wasn't completely obliterated crashed onto the beach. Luzzu felt himself fading away from existence. He became detached from life as he lay in the sand in two pieces.

Everyone above on the cliff gasped. Rinoa looked toward the group that stood, gazing over the cliff at the hopeless battle. She noticed one man had funny looking blue hair who was walking towards Yuna and her Guardians. She noticed that he had a slight smirk on his face as he watched the army's pitiful attempt to kill the seemingly invincible creature. He watched as the people down below were obliterated in only seconds upon engaging the battle. Rinoa immediately knew this guy was not good news… He looked as though he was enjoying watching the hundreds of people sacrifice their lives in the hopeless battle.

Sin was still standing, without a scratch on him. Nothing had broken through his tough shell. It was now that they would have to go to drastic measures to bring him down before he could get any closer to destroy them all. A large tower on a cliff across the beach was getting its large canon ready. The Al Bhed's inside the tower stayed calm as their massive weapon was powering up. Everyone watched in anticipation as they waited for it to blast Sin. As soon as Sin was close enough to target, they pushed the round green button that would bring them to victory.

The large canon summoned it's power to its main point. It made a static buzzing sound just before it fired. A burst of energy emerged from it and was heading straight toward Sin. The large wave of electric power was still not enough to bring it down. Sin had managed to backfire their attempt, right back at the tower from which it came from. It split in two, causing the top half to crash onto the beach below, inevitably killing the Al Bhed's inside the tower.

"No…" Rinoa said under her breath. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. It was horrible. Hundreds of people had died for nothing. Their attempt had failed horribly.

Irvine began to think. _What if Selphie was down there? _Anything was possible, and this worried Irvine. _What if… What if Selphie, Squall and Quistis were caught in something like that? _As hard as he tried, he couldn't get the idea out of his mind. Suddenly Zell broke through, "What the hell..." His voice sounded unsure and hesitant. "All those people died…"

"Thank Hyne it wasn't any of us down there," Rinoa added with a frown on her face. The Sinspawn that Yuna and her Guardians thought they had taken care of earlier, came back to life somehow. Now they would have to battle it again. They continued to watch as Yuna and her Guardians… And Seymour?! Maester Seymour was helping them with their battle against the Sinspawn. Maybe he really wasn't evil? There was still something about him that made him seem evil. There was just something about him. He didn't want to help them fight, he wanted to gain their trust… The battle went on for a while longer before it was put to an end when Seymour used his Overdrive.

After the battle was over, Tidus seemed pretty pissed. The look on his face was indescribable. He ran down to the beach below and began to swim after Sin. The others chased him down to the beach. The large monster in the ocean began to leave the battle site, and returned to the depths of the ocean. He had done enough destruction for one day. Seymour watched as they chased after the young boy then turned around and began to walk in the direction of Irvine and the others. "Come on guys," Zell said, "let's get out of here." They nodded and began to walk towards the beach as well.

As they walked by Seymour on their way, Rinoa saw the expression on his face. She tried not to pay attention to him, but she couldn't help herself. As he got closer to them, she noticed the evil that burned in his eyes. She stopped in her path, as did Seymour. Irvine and Zell were talking and hadn't noticed so they kept walking. "Most fascinating," he said in a calm voice. "I am Seymour Guado… And you?"

Rinoa couldn't help herself but answer, "Rinoa… Rinoa Heartilly." She couldn't believe that she had answered his question. It was as if he had put her under a spell of some sort.

"Beautiful name…" Seymour replied. In the back of his mind, Seymour knew there was something about this girl that was out of the ordinary. There was something special about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on… His eyes lingered on hers for a moment longer. _Interesting… Such power… But how…?_


	7. To Djose We Go

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Six: To Djose We Go**

"Rin?" Irvine looked around him for Rinoa when he noticed she wasn't with them, but he couldn't spot her. He stopped Zell before he walked any further and looked around. Zell couldn't seem to find her either. "Where did she go?" Irvine pondered aloud. She couldn't have gotten lost because she was right behind the two of them. They both began to walk back the way they came.

Rinoa looked oddly at Seymour for a second. His eyes were full of malevolence, and she could almost feel the evil emanating from him. "Rinoa!" Zell's voice suddenly interrupted the thoughts in Rinoa's mind. She turned around to see Zell and Irvine coming towards her. When she turned back around to take one last look at Seymour and he had already left.

"Sorry," Rinoa apologized, "I just ran into someone and began talking." She glanced over her shoulder one last time and then began to walk again. Irvine and Zell followed. They weren't too sure of their next destination, so they tried to follow Yuna and the gang. Unfortunately, they were too fast to catch up with and Irvine, Zell and Rinoa were left to walk around aimlessly not knowing where to go.

"I guess we can follow the path," Zell suggested. "There isn't anywhere else to go anyways." He had a good point, so they continued down the path. Along the way, there were many injured people laying about, some of them looked like they were close to death. It was very sad sight to see; so many of these people were so ready to destroy Sin; they were so sure about the whole operation until they realized their attempts to defeat the massive monster were futile. Even the greatest machina couldn't bring down the beast.

"I hope we find the others soon," Rinoa spoke softly. She walked with her hands together behind her back. She looked up towards the sky and thought of Squall. Her only love, her Knight. _We'll find you soon…_

"We'll find them," Irvine reassured her while putting his hands behind his head. He was eager to find Selphie, to know that she was alive and safe. Thousands of years it had been since they last saw each other, and it really did seem like that long. Irvine never forgot her smile, or her perky attitude. Selphie was the kind of person you could never forget. How long would it be until they found their next friend? Would they find anyone?

"This whole thing is just…" Zell started to speak but couldn't find the word he was looking for. "Oh, what's that word?" He looked around and thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, this whole thing is just so… weird? I mean, here we are in a completely different… time, and I don't know, it's just really weird." He shook his head and sighed as he jammed his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah," Irvine replied. "It is weird, to be in our same world, but thousands of years beyond our time."

"I feel so bad," Rinoa looked down to the ground.

"Why?" Zell questioned her as they continued to walk.

"Well, what do you think happened to the people of the world after?" Rinoa paused for a moment. "You know, after we '_died_' or rather, disappeared from existence?" It was a good question. What _did_ happen to the people of the world after they were unable to bring down Ultimecia?

"I'm not sure," Irvine replied uneasily.

"I feel so bad for the people. It must have been hell for them, to have to live their lives with Ultimecia as their ruler," Rinoa turned her gaze to the ground below her. "The world probably crumbled before everyone's eyes. Little children's hopes of growing up to be a SeeD were crushed by Ultimecia's rule. She probably enslaved all of humanity… It must have been awful, and it's all our fault! We weren't able to destroy her, and now look where we are!" She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to stifle oncoming tears.

"Hey, at least we're still alive," Zell said. "You never know, maybe Ultimecia didn't enslave all of humanity. She had to have been defeated somehow, otherwise this world, Spira, wouldn't exist!"

"What if she became Sin?" Rinoa pondered in a low voice. "What if… overtime, she could no longer keep her body because it became old, so she became part of a monster? Just like she became a part of Griever, she could have done the same to any other GF or monster. That could very well be her."

"Yeah, but if that _was _Ultimecia," Irvine interrupted, "then wouldn't she have all her powers like she had before?" _Wouldn't this world too, be in shambles?_

"Well…" Rinoa thought, "maybe her powers became weaker over time... Maybe she's storing up her power…? I… I don't know…" She sighed and looked over to Irvine and Zell who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Well," Irvine began to speak again, "you might have a good point there. Maybe Sin _is _Ultimecia. She probably didn't want to pass on her powers to die, so instead, she became a part of some monster. But I don't know…" Irvine stopped to think for a moment. "If Ultimecia really did become so weak, she must have been defeated. I know I'd take advantage of her weakened state to destroy her."

"You're right…" Rinoa let out a sigh of relief. "There's no way she could have survived so long. She had to have been defeated."

After discussing their theory, they became quiet. Each of them hoping that Ultimecia had in fact been defeated. Slowly they continued to walk along the path to their next destination, of which they didn't yet know. The warm afternoon wind blew gently as the time went on. A few clouds covered the sky, but it was a nice day. Soon they came upon a fork in the road. There were two paths: one to the left of them, and one going straight.

"So which way shall it be?" Irvine pondered.

"Look over here," Zell pointed to a board. It was kind of like a map. If they continued up the path they would get to the Djose Temple, and the other way was continuing down the Djose Highroad towards Moonflow.

"Why don't we check out Djose Temple?" Rinoa requested as she stood next to Irvine and Zell.

"Sure," Irvine answered. "Yuna and the others are probably there too, on their pilgrimage thing or whatever." After adjusting his hat, Irvine lead them up the path to the temple.

"When do you think we'll find the others?" Rinoa wondered.

"Soon enough, Rin," Irvine answered. "Don't worry, we'll find them, I promise." It was a promise that Irvine hoped he would be able to keep. Sooner or later, they would run into their friends. Selphie, Squall and Quistis are probably looking for each other right now. Or maybe those three had already found each other and are looking for Irvine, Zell and Rinoa. Eventually, they would all be reunited once again. Once they were all together, they could find a way back home.

After a few minutes of walking, they came upon the large Djose Temple. It was spectacular, something they had never seen before. Rocks were orbiting around the temple, electricity seemed to be holding them into place. The trio stood before the great temple and gazed at it for a moment.

Rinoa looked around and noticed someone sitting next to one of the pillars. She walked over to him slowly and soon realized it was Gatta. Just then, she remembered what she had seen happen to his friend Luzzu. Irvine and Zell still stood in front of the temple looking at it in awe.

"Gatta?" Rinoa whispered. He was sitting in the corner, holding his knees to his chest. As Rinoa got closer, she could see that he was shaking. Gatta then looked up at her hesitantly.

"Luzzu…" his voice was shaky, "he's… he's dead!" Even though Rinoa saw the vision of Luzzu being killed, she was shocked to find out that it became real - it had actually happened. Her hands began to tremble as she tried to comfort the young man.

"I… I'm so sorry…" Rinoa kneeled down next to him. He was still shaking as he rubbed his face, then turned to Rinoa.

"I went… down to the beach and… and I saw him…" Gatta stared off into space for a moment, as if he was recreating the scene in his own mind. "His body… He was in… two pieces!" Rinoa stood up and looked away for a moment. She should have told him not to go, but would he have listened to her? Now this young Crusader is left without his captain… Without someone to look up to. She fought to hold back tears of sorrow and anger. _I could have done something…_

"Rinoa!" Irvine called out to Rinoa. He and Zell walked over to Rinoa who put a hand on Gatta's shoulder before standing up. She turned around to find her two friends walking toward her.

"What's wrong with him?" Zell asked as he noticed Gatta sitting on the dirt ground. Rinoa walked closer to them and began to explain.

"You remember Luzzu?" she looked at Irvine and Zell as they nodded. "Well… he's dead…" Both Irvine's and Zell's faces sunk.

"Poor guy," Irvine shook his head. "He must have gotten all caught up in that blast from Sin during that pathetic operation."

"Man, that sucks," Zell added. They all turned to see the young Crusader cradling himself. They decided it would be best for them to leave him alone for a while. He must have a lot on his mind right now.

Instead of going into the temple, they decided to sit off to the side and wait for Yuna and her Guardians to come out. _They might be able to help us out again_, Irvine thought. _I know we can handle things on our own, but we don't really know where we're going. We could be aimlessly wandering for days before we get anywhere._

"Are you sure they're here?" Zell complained. He stood up and stretched his arms and legs out.

"Yeah, they have to be here," Irvine insisted. The stones were still circling around the temple, and it was still as amazing as it was the first time they saw it. Rinoa continued to watch them as they orbited around the Djose Temple.

"Well," Zell stopped for a moment and turned to face Irvine, "what if they already left? What if they had just left as we arrived?" Zell cracked his knuckles and sat back down next to Rinoa.

"Well, we can only wait and see," Irvine insisted. "We'll wait a little longer, and if they don't show up, well I guess we'll have to find our way to the next town by ourselves."

"Let's hope they _are _in there," Zell sighed. If they weren't, then there was an Inn where they could rest up over night.

"Maybe we should buy a map," Rinoa piped up. "It shouldn't be that hard if we just buy a map. We could easily navigate with it by ourselves. We don't really need them to help us find our way." _Though it would be nice… I just don't want to waste anymore time… I need to find Squall…_

"But they know this world a lot better than we do, even if we have been here longer than them," Irvine added. He had a point, a map would greatly help, but it would be so much better if they had someone who knew where they were going.

"Come on…" Rinoa sighed with a pleading look in her face.

"Okay, this is what we will do," Irvine began to explain, "we'll wait for them out here until it gets dark, if they don't show up, then we spend the night at the Inn, buy a map and continue our journey without them. If they do show up, then we can join up with them again."

"Sounds like a plan," Zell agreed. "But isn't it going to be so boring waiting for them, couldn't we just go inside and get them?"

"Whoa, okay, first of all you don't even know what's in there do you?" Irvine questioned Zell. "Once you get into those Cloister of Trials things, it can take a hell of a long time to get out. Not only that, but last time I was in there, I got in trouble. Only Guardians are allowed in there…"

"Okay, okay…" Zell said. "Well, we need something to pass the time… Oh! Dude, do you happen to have any Triple Triad Cards?" Zell raised an eyebrow as he pulled his deck out of his pocket. He had just remembered about them just then. Irvine smirked as he pulled a deck out of his pocket as well.

"Wanna go?" Irvine asked.

"Bring it, cowboy!" Zell answered.

"Okay, so what rules are we playing with," Irvine asked again. "And don't make it all rules, it's too complicated then." As Zell looked through his deck of cards he thought about the rules.

"How about we play with the rules Open and Plus," Zell replied.

"Simple and easy, fair enough," Irvine grinned while looking through his pile. They each pulled out 5 of their best cards. Before they placed them down though, Irvine smirked and added, "As for the winner, he shall receive three cards."

"Agreed," Zell replied with a wide grin, glancing over his cards once more. They both put down their cards and for a brief moment, observed the cards their opponent had. In their minds, they each thought of a quick little strategy to beat the other.

"Alright, rock paper scissors to see who goes first," Irvine put his fist out. They both counted to three and then quickly chose one of the three options. Irvine chose paper, while Zell chose scissors.

"Ha! I go first!" Zell said in excitement. He looked as his cards and tried to decided which one to play first, and where.

"Are you sure going first is always a good idea?" Irvine raised an eyebrow and grinned. He watched as Zell looked at each one of his cards, trying to read his mind, trying to figure out which one he was going to place where. Behind them, Rinoa sat and continued to look at the orbiting rocks as she thought about the others. _Squall… Quistis… Selphie… I hope you're all okay…Please be okay…_

"You're going down Irvine!" Zell's shouting startled Rinoa. He placed his second card into the game, flipping over Irvine's card.

"Now hold on just a second," Irvine laughed. "You didn't think about that move now did ya? You must have forgotten I had this card in my hand." Irvine picked up his next card and placed it in a way that both sides added to the same number, thus flipping over two of Zell's cards. "Now it's six to four!" Zell's face sunk as he realized his mistake, which might have cost him the whole game.

_Ah hah! What is this? _Zell looked at his cards again and looked at the numbers. He then looked over to Irvine's cards and tried to play out what would happen if he stuck down certain cards. _If I put that card there, he'll definitely put that card down, and I can get a Plus… But if he sticks that other card down then I am screwed. _Zell continued to think as he looked at the cards in play. _Oh! I can force him to put that card down, then that will for sure win me the game!_ Without thinking much about his next move, Zell put down his next card, which flipped one of Irvine's.

Irvine looked at the card he had just put down. It forced him to use one of his other cards, otherwise Irvine would lose. He had no other choice but to put down the card. _Wait a second, I see what he is trying to pull… _Irvine looked at his cards again. The card he would put down was vulnerable at the free side, if he were to flip over Zell's card. Instead of putting that card down, Irvine decided to put a different card into play, and into the bottom left corner.

"What?" Zell couldn't resist saying out loud. He looked at Irvine who smiled innocently back at him. Zell's plans were foiled, but he still had two turns left, and Irvine only had one more turn. If Zell could somehow manage to place his card in such a way that Irvine can't flip it, than he would win on his last turn. Unfortunately, none of his cards had the right numbers on the right sides. Zell could only hope that he would win. He placed his next card above one of Irvine's cards, but didn't flip it.

Swiftly, Irvine placed down his next card in the top right corner and had another Plus which flipped over two more of Zell's cards. It was impossible for Zell to win now. After looking at his one card left, and the one spot left, he decided to just put down his card. He managed to flip over one of Irvine's cards, which put the score to six to four for Irvine.

"I told you going first doesn't always mean you're the winner," Irvine grinned. "Since I am your friend, I'll go easy on you this time. I'll only take one card from you." After considering each card, Irvine finally took his pick and stuck it into his own pile, then shuffled them. "You wanna go for another game?" Irvine asked.

"Not really," Zell sulked as he stuck his deck back into his pocket. "Are they ever going to come out of that temple?" Zell stood up and stretched his arms and legs again. He was unable to sit still for long periods of time, he needed to be active. After cracking his knuckles again, he began to pace back and forth in front of Irvine and Rinoa, who was still deep in thought.


	8. The Mysterious Moonflow

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Seven: The Mysterious Moonflow**

Irvine leaned back and stretched out his arms. He turned to Rinoa who was staring off blankly. "Rin?" he suddenly broke through her silent thoughts. She blinked and turned back to Irvine who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hm?" Rinoa replied.

"When did you wake up in this world?" Irvine wondered. He had woken up a few days before in Kilika, and Zell mentioned that he had woken up weeks ago. It was a question he had meant to ask Rinoa when they first found her, but forgot until now.

Rinoa stared off towards the temple again before answering Irvine's question. "Just before that monster attacked the Chocobo's…" her voice was quiet. "A woman had found me just next to the cliff side - she said she thought I was crazy for taking a nap there."

"Oh," Irvine interjected.

"Shortly after that, I felt the ground move, and the woman shrieked in horror," Rinoa's eye's widened as she gestured the size of the creature. "That big monster came to attack the chocobo's so I tried to fend it off, and that's when you guys showed up!"

"Just in the nick of time!" Zell stopped pacing for a moment as he clenched his fist in front of him.

"What about you Irvine? And Zell?" Rinoa wondered.

"I woke up a few days ago, but Zell here," Irvine pointed to the pacing boy, "apparently he woke up weeks ago."

"What?!" Rinoa was slightly shocked.

"I know, it's kind of scary…" Irvine tilted his head down a little. "I'm hoping the others wake up soon too, or haven't already woken up years ago…" The thought stung his heart as he thought of Selphie and the others.

Zell stopped pacing and they all fell deathly silent. Each of them thinking of their friends, hoping and prying to Hyne that they weren't dead, that they were fine and had found each other. Zell's sudden sigh broke the silence and he began to punch the air.

"I don't want to sit around and do nothing," Rinoa stated firmly. She stood up from her seat to take charge. "I don't want to wait around when we could be finding our friends!"

"You're right," Zell replied as he threw a few more punches into the air.

"Let's just buy a map and get going," Rinoa turned to Irvine and Zell. "I mean, with a map it shouldn't be that hard, and it's not getting dark out any time soon." With her hands on her hips she added, "Well?"

"Yeah, let's just go, those guys are taking way too long anyway," Zell replied. He began to walk over to the Inn. "Well, come on!" Irvine and Rinoa followed behind him. Every Inn should at least have a map of the area for tourists and such. They walked into the small Inn and looked around. Irvine waltzed up to the front counter where a woman was standing.

"Hey there," he started a conversation, "you have any maps here?" He smiled at the lady who in turn began to blush at the handsome young man.

"Actually, we do," she answered with a smile. "Just hold on a sec." She turned around and looked at the shelf behind her. After a moment she found the map. "You can take it for free," the lady had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Thanks beautiful," he said with a smile as he tipped her hat to her. She let out a quiet sigh as Irvine turned around and grimaced at his two comrades. They followed him outside the tent as he unfolded the map.

"Your charm never fails, does it, Irvy?" Rinoa giggled.

"What can I say?" Irvine laughed as he looked on the map for their current location. The other path at the fork in the road would lead them to Moonflow, which wasn't terribly far from where they were currently. It sounded like a calm and peaceful place, _Moonflow_.

"We can make it there before dark," Zell insisted as he cracked his knuckles. Irvine folded up the map and put it into his pocket.

"Alright then, let's go!" Irvine lead the way as they returned to the fork in the road. Just as they were leaving, there was a sound that almost sounded like rocks colliding. Not knowing exactly what it was, they shrugged it off and continued. Moonflow wasn't very far from where they were, but the encounters from monsters made it take far longer than it should have.

They encountered their first monster just upon starting their walk. There were two large snakes, that almost resembled Anacondaurs, but these ones were much larger and white instead of green.

"Piece of cake," Irvine laughed as he loaded his gun. He took his turn first. "I'll take care of the second snake, you two take care of the first one!" he yelled out confidently to his friends. He aimed at the large snake and shot it, though it did not fall to the ground. Rinoa took her turn and let her Shooting Star take care of the snake. Right after, Zell who was pumped full of energy, ran up to the snake and did a little of his martial arts. Both snakes were still standing, well, in this case, slithering.

The first snake took it's turn first, and attacked Zell, making him flinch, but that wasn't enough to stop him from counter attacking. Right after, he punched the snake before it slithered away from him. The second snake now took its turn, instead of physically attacking someone though, it decided to use a poison attack. It aimed at Rinoa and spat a shot of poison at her. She fell to the ground for a moment, and then stood back up, a bit faint.

"Rin, you okay?" Zell shouted out to her.

She looked over to him and answered, "Yeah, I'll be fine." She concentrated on keeping herself stable. Her turn came up again, so she attacked the first snake again, which this time, died. Before she had a chance to heal herself, she was hit by the poison again. Feeling more faint than before, she kneeled down close to the ground to keep her balance.

"This should help you," Irvine shouted to her as he used a Remedy on her. Right after, Zell took his turn to beat up the snake who managed to withstand the attack. Irvine brought his gun up and shot the snake again, but it failed to be defeated.

Rinoa acted quickly and attacked the monster before it had a chance to attack them again. It was finally defeated and the three of them could cure themselves before going forward.

"Alright, let's get going," Irvine said has he tucked his gun away. "We may still have a long ways to go until we find someone else, so we better get moving. It'll start getting late soon and we want to be at Moonflow before it gets dark." Zell and Rinoa both nodded, and they continued along the path to Moonflow.

The air was still warm and the sun was now descending down the sky. Soon it would be getting dark and soon they would get to be at Moonflow. They didn't want to be traveling in the dark because they wouldn't know where they were going. The sky above had started to turn a pastel orange and pink. The few clouds that were in the sky had purple and pink lining making it a pleasantly beautiful sight.

Several more monsters were encountered as they made their way to Moonflow. They accumulated many items and discovered more about their magic. Many of the spells they once had were now gone, lost in the sands of time. They were still able to cast reasonably strong spells and somehow their power had increased.

"Oh… no…" Rinoa stopped for a moment and looked worriedly at the two boys.

"What is it?" Zell asked with a confused look as he and Irvine turned around to face the raven haired girl.

"Angelo…" Rinoa whispered. Both Irvine and Zell looked at each other for a moment and then back towards Rinoa who was fighting back tears. "She… she's gone…?!"

"Oh shi-"

"Rin…" Irvine interrupted Zell. "Hey, she'll be okay." The young cowboy tried to comfort her as he swung an arm around her shoulder.

"I can't believe I didn't even realize until now…" Rinoa quivered. "She's always been with me… always…" She buried her face into Irvine's shoulder as he gave her a comforting hug.

"Don't worry Rin," Zell piped up. "We'll find her, I know we will!"

A few moments passed before Rinoa regained her composure. She smiled at Irvine then Zell and wiped away her watery eyes. "Right," she said as her voice still wavered. "We'll find her, and Squall and the others too!" She took a deep breath and gestured for them to continue. A_ngelo… we'll find you girl, I hope…_

Irvine was beginning to wish that he had a car and Zell wished he had his T-Board with him. He never did get it back after it was confiscated before his first official mission as a SeeD.

"Man, I really wish I had my T-Board with me…" Zell complained. "I never did get it back from Garden when they confiscated it way back when." His shoulders drooped down and his face hung low. He sighed as he continued to look at the dirt path below his feet. He shoved his hands in his pocket and tilted his neck to crack it.

"I wish we had a car," Irvine sighed. "It would make things so much easier… And we wouldn't have to battle all these monsters all the friggin' time." They all sighed once more and continued the rest of the way in silence. All that could be heard was the gentle blow of the wind, and the chirps from the birds flying above in the sky.

Irvine noticed that their surroundings had changed from cliffs to a forest. He pulled the map out of his pocket briefly and unfolded it. Scanning it with his sea blue eyes, he stopped on the Moonflow and gave a sigh of relief. _We're almost there. It's about time too._

"We're almost there," Irvine informed the others, who seemed to be relieved to hear it. "It's just a little further up the path." He pointed ahead of them with one hand as he let the map hang from his other. The sun sank lower into the sky as it got later and as the sun began to disappear over the hills, the light disappeared with it. The air was cooler now, and the wind began to subside. It wouldn't be long now before they reach the Moonflow.

Rinoa walked a little behind Irvine and Zell, her eyes focused on the ground below her. Irvine and Zell stopped in awe. They looked across the calm river to see something they had never seen before. "Wow!" Irvine said in amazement.

"The hell are they?" Zell wondered. Rinoa looked up to see what all the fuss was about to find herself looking at something so surreal she thought she must have been dreaming. Small glowing orbs with colorful trails behind them hovered over the serene water.

"Oh, wow!" her face lit up as she ran over to Irvine and Zell. They all stood there and gazed for a moment in silence. There were almost no words to describe the way they felt. Rinoa walked closer to the edge of the river to get a closer look. She seemed to be in almost a trance sort of state as she watched the swirls of colorful orbs float above the tranquil waters. Zell and Irvine stood next to Rinoa, they all were amazed at the spectacular sight.

"It's so pretty," Rinoa smiled. "I wonder what they are?" One began to float a little closer to them. Rinoa put her hand out to try and catch it, but something odd happened when her hand reached it. It was like before, when she had shaken Luzzu's hand, when everything just seemed to stop and she saw into the future. But this time was different. Time seemed to stop again, but instead of going into the future, she visited the past. She saw herself talking to Seymour, only, she didn't remember this part of the conversation.

"Interesting," Seymour said slowly and he opened his eyes. Rinoa's eyes narrowed as a grin crept across his face.

"What's so interesting?" Rinoa asked him. He laughed lightly for a moment and shook his head.

"Tell me," he began to speak, "how does one like you, contain such massive power?" He obviously knew something about Rinoa, something very important. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

Rinoa thought for a moment and realized that he was talking about all her sorceress powers. But how did he know? "How do you know about my power?" she asked a bit annoyed.

"I can see it in your eyes," he replied. "All that power is inside you, just waiting to come out. Were you born with these powers?" Seymour was curious as to how she received such massive powers, surely someone couldn't have just been born with such a thing, but he didn't know.

"It was passed onto me," she seemed a bit saddened as she spoke her words. "I had no choice… It was given to me by another Sorceress." She suddenly covered her mouth. Why was she telling this strange man about herself and her powers?

"So you are a Sorceress then?" Seymour was highly interested. "And you say these powers were passed onto you, so, that must mean that you can pass these powers onto another?" Seymour stepped a bit closer to Rinoa, wanting to hear an answer. She didn't speak another word, but instead, stepped back from Seymour's close presence. He had some evil intentions in his mind. If he could obtain the massive power that this girl held within her, than he could for sure follow through with his plans…

Suddenly, Rinoa heard her name being shouted out, she quickly turned around to see who was calling her. Just as she turned around, Seymour cast a spell on her, to make sure that she wouldn't be going too far. Rinoa would be of great use to him, all he had to do was make sure she wouldn't get out of his grasp. She didn't even realize that he had done it. Seymour grinned and with evil thoughts still dancing through his mind, he walked away from the young girl, soon enough the spell would commence, all in good time…

"Rinoa?" Irvine looked at her worriedly. She seemed detached from herself. Irvine put his hand on her shoulder and immediately she jumped back to reality. Rinoa tried to think, but so much was going through her mind. _He had cast a spell on me! What if it starts taking effect right now? I have to tell the others to keep me away from him… I know he has evil intentions!_

Rinoa turned around to face Zell and Irvine, they both had worried expressions on their faces. Before Rinoa was able to speak a word, the air around her began to get heavier and it started to get darker and darker, until eventually, there was nothing but blackness. Zell ran to catch her before she fell over into the water. He slowly brought her down to the ground. "Shit! What the hell just happened?!" Zell said quickly. He checked her pulse. "I don't know what's wrong with her… She's still breathing, but she won't wake up."

"This again?" Irvine wondered.

"What do you mean, '_This again'?_" Zell questioned his friend.

"Maybe it's just like that time back at Galbadia when that Sorceress passed on Edea's powers to Rinoa," Irvine explained. "She blacked out and we had to take her to go see Dr. Odine… remember?"

"Yeah, and I was Edea's escort to Esthar," Zell said. "Damn, what the hell do we do now? Where's the next village or town or whatever?" He sat on the ground with Rinoa's head resting in his arms. He'd have to carry her until the next town or village that they came across, and he was hoping it wouldn't be too far. Apparently Moonflow was just a river, and there were no Inns for them to rest at, so they had to make haste to the next village.

Irvine pulled the map out of his pocket and looked at it again. His eyes trailed across Moonflow to the next stop. "Um… It's called Guadosalam," he replied to Zell.


	9. Evil Intentions

**Heroes Of Spira**

**Chapter Eight: Evil Intentions**

"Guadosalam?" Zell scrunched up his faced, "Sounds like an interesting place, I guess." He looked down at Rinoa again and sighed. "First we lose the battle against Sorceress Ultimecia, then we get trapped in her spell of Time Compression, and now we're all scattered across an unfamiliar world thousands of years into the future…What are we supposed to do if we can never get back to our time, Irvine? What then?" He narrowed his eyes and stared blankly at Rinoa's lifeless expression, trying not to think of the worst possible outcomes.

"Just calm down, Zell," Irvine hushed his anxious friend. "We need to focus on right now, and right now we need to get to Guadosalam and get Rinoa some rest. We'll worry about everything else later." Zell's face softened and he sighed once more before getting Rinoa up onto his back. Irvine helped lift her lifeless body, and swung her arms around Zell's neck. Irvine inspected the map one more time before nodding to himself and pointing in the direction they were to travel.

The two of them followed the path a little further until they came upon a wharf with a large creature. Darkness had settled upon the land, and the air was beginning to get cooler and cooler as the evening went on. There was a small rest area where there were a handful of people waiting with luggage. A few of them seemed to have fallen asleep, clutching their bags, or the person next to them.

"You and Rinoa wait here for a second," Irvine pointed to an empty spot. "I'll go see what's going on here," Zell nodded and softly put Rinoa down onto the empty spot on the bench. He sat next to her, letting her lean against him.

Irvine adjusted his hat and walked toward the large creature that was being held next to the wharf. Seeing the canopy atop the creature, he assumed it was their mode of transportation. Soon after approaching the large thing, Irvine was encountered by a short , strange looking man. "Ride ze Shoopuf?" he asked in an unfamiliar accent.

"Wha?" Irvine recoiled, surprised by the odd looking fellow.

"Do you vant to ride ze Shoopuf?" he pointed up towards the large creature with the canopy; it was known in Spira as a Shoopuf, and it was their mode of transportation across the Moonflow. Irvine nodded, looking up at the large Shoopuf. "Joost you?" the short man asked.

"No," Irvine shook his head. He turned towards the waiting area and pointed to his two friends, "There are three of us all together." The short man began to tap his finger on his head and paced back and forth momentarily before turning back to Irvine with an answer.

"You will have to vait for ze next Shoopuf," he declared, pointing upwards to the sky for no apparent reason.

"What? Why can't we just get on this one right now?" Irvine shook his head in disagreement. They needed to get to Guadosalam as soon as possible to get Rinoa into a bed or something. They couldn't be waiting around all night in the cold for the next Shoopuf to show up and take them - it simply wouldn't do.

"Imposhibibble!" the man shook his head, waving his arms wildly, "You joost have to vait thirty minoots!" Still shaking his head, he turned around and began to call out to the passengers who had been waiting. Irvine turned around in dismay and headed back towards Zell and Rinoa, still sitting in the waiting area.

"We have to wait thirty minutes until the next one," Irvine stated before Zell could ask. After a great sigh and a roll of his eyes, Zell flung his head back and stared blankly into the air. It was much cooler now, being closer to the water. A sudden breeze picked up and sent chills down everyone's spines.

"What do you think will happen if we can't get back to our own time?" Zell pondered aloud. They sat in silence for several minutes, thinking of all the possibilities of not getting back to their own time. It was a question they tried to ignore since waking up in Spira. Though they had mentioned it before, they never really sat and gave it a lot of thought. Not one of them wanted to admit that they were most likely stuck in Spira, but they knew it was a great possibility.

Irvine paced back and forth momentarily, keeping his eyes glued to the dirt below his feet. After kicking a few rocks aside, he sat down next to Rinoa, and looked at Zell. "If it's inevitable that we can't get back to our own time, the only thing we can do is accept the fact that we're stuck in Spira," he slowly turned his gaze towards the path from which they came. "As much as I'd hate to admit, the odds of us finding a way back to our time are slim to none. If you think about it, the only reason why we're here now is because of Ultimecia and her Time Compression. Let's say she was defeated during the thousands of years we were stuck in that Time Compression, who could there possibly be in Spira, with such great powers, to create another rift in time and send us back to where we came from? And even then, would they get the time right? Would they be able to send us back to before our battle with Ultimecia? If anything, I'd want to do that battle all over again, but win next time." Irvine paused and looked towards Zell again, who was hunched over with his elbows leaning on his legs. It looked as though he was deep in thought.

"But what if this 'Sin' was really Ultimecia?" Zell pondered. "We thought about it before - what if it is true?"

"Even if it were true, do you think Ultimecia would send us back in time so we can destroy her?" Irvine interrupted. He had a point though. "Think about it, if Sin really is Ultimecia, the moment she, or it saw us, we would have been destroyed for sure. I don't think she could forget people like us, even after thousands of years."

"Tch, way to ruin any hope of getting back," Zell shook his head and clenched his fists in anger. _Irvine has a point_, Zell thought to himself, _if Ultimecia still existed today in Spira, there's no way she would send us back in time… How would we go about getting it done anyway? Walk up and ask if she could nicely transport us back in time so we can defeat her a live our lives normally? Yeah right…_

"All aboard ze Shoopuf!!" a voice called from towards the wharf. "All aboard!" Irvine and Zell sat silently for a moment before getting up and making their way towards the wharf. With Rinoa on his back, Zell got aboard the Shoopuf and sat down with her next to him again and Irvine sat on the opposite side of her. They were silent the entire way across the Moonflow. By now, the air was even cooler than before. Irvine closed his eyes, while Zell continued to think about things and clench his fists.

Before they knew it, the Shoopuf had gotten to the other side of the Moonflow. After getting off of the Shoopuf, they found themselves at a wharf that looked very familiar to the opposite side. Irvine pulled out the map again and found Guadosalam not too far from where they had gotten off. They began their short walk through the darkened forest. By this time, the only light was that of the moon, which was just enough to light up the path towards their destination.

After a brisk walk, they came upon an opening in the forest into an almost underground-like village. Irvine and Zell didn't know what to expect, but hoped for the best as they entered the unfamiliar territory. It was dimly lit inside, just enough to see around. Being so late, they probably turn the lights down inside; it would make sense. Just off to the right, there was an Inn and they decided to rest there for the night. Because of Rinoa's condition, they weren't exactly in the greatest hurry to go anywhere. After speaking with the receptionist, they managed to get two rooms; one room had one bed for Rinoa, and the other had two beds for Irvine and Zell.

Zell opened the door to Rinoa's room and carefully put her onto the bed. "We'd better leave a note for her, just in case she happens to wake up during the night," he suggested. Irvine looked around the room for a pen, and took the map out of his pocket.

On the back of the map he wrote:

_Rinoa, you passed out at Moonflow so we decided to go to the nearest place with an Inn. If you happen to wake up, Zell and I will be in the room directly across from you. _

_Irvine._

As they exited the room, they turned the light off and headed across the hall to their own room. "I call this bed!" Zell dove across the room onto one of the beds and snatched the pillow up into the air in victory. With a smirk on his face, Irvine sat down on the opposite bed and yawned.

"This bed is softer anyway," Irvine laughed as Zell put the pillow down and began taking off his shoes.

"You wish!" Zell retorted. After stretching and letting out an enormous yawn, he let himself fall back into his bed and stared at the ceiling. Irvine got up and turned the light off before taking his boots off and getting ready to rest for the night. Shortly after his head hit his pillow, Irvine was fast sleep, and snoring. Zell mumbled and covered his head with his pillow, turning over on his side.

The night fell to silence and darkness. Rinoa slept lifelessly in her bed, completely unaware of anything going on around her. Slowly, the doorknob began to turn, as if trying not to wake her. A sliver of light crept into the small room from the hallway, and a tall, dark figure stood silently in the doorway. Quietly, the dark figure entered the room and slowly closed the door behind it.

"I knew it would only be a matter of time before you would be brought here," a calm voice broke through the silence and a sinister laughter soon followed. Startled, Rinoa jolted out of the bed and looked around the small room. She paused for a moment and tried to think of the last thing she could remember. The Moonflow came to mind, with the memory of Seymour Guado casting a spell on her during Operation Mi'ihen. Surely Irvine and Zell had brought her here to rest, but where had they gone?

As she continued to look around the small room, she noticed a piece of paper with writing on it. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was the map that Irvine was carrying. On it, she read the note he had left her. "I passed out?" she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times, getting out the last of the drowsiness left in her. After reading the note, she opened the map to discover a few markings on it. "Maybe Irvine made these marks?" Rinoa pondered aloud. Macalania, Bevelle and Mount Gagazet were all circled on the map, and Zanarkand had a star drawn on it. _These must be our destinations from here, I suppose, _Rinoa thought to herself. After folding up the map again, she stretched and exited her room. Across the hall, she slowly opened the door and peeked into the room to find Zell and Irvine both still asleep.

Irvine was snoring quietly, and Zell had a pillow half covering his face. His blankets had been tossed onto the floor, and he was curled up in almost a fetal position. Rinoa chuckled softly to herself and tried to decide which one she would scare awake. She decided to go for Zell as he would probably be more amusing to scare. Quietly, she crept up next to his bed and suddenly pushed him towards the edge of the bed. He yelled loudly as he jerked off the edge of the bed. Swiftly, yet clumsily, he regained himself on his feet and started throwing fists in the air with his eyes still trying to adjust to being awake. Rinoa's laugh gave her away as she picked up Zell's pillow from the floor to return it back to his bed. Irvine was now sitting up in his bed yawning, looking towards Rinoa with shock.

"So you woke up, huh?" Irvine yawned again as he began to stretch and put his boots on. Rinoa turned around and nodded, passing Zell his shoes to put back on. "What happened to you, anyway? Was it like last time?" Irvine wondered.

"I don't think it was like last time," she replied. "The last thing I remember is Moonflow, and time slowing down, and seeing a conversation that happened back at Operation Mi'ihen… I think that Seymour guy cast some sort of spell on me or something… But I can't remember what we talked about anymore… It's as if my memory has been picked from my head or something." She sat on the edge of Zell's bed and tried to remember the conversation she 'saw' at Moonflow, but didn't remember having at Operation Mi'ihen. To her dismay, she couldn't remember anything. _Maybe I can only remember these things when I come in contact with someone, or something that has a connection to those memories… _Rinoa shook her head. "Never mind, I really can't remember anything…"

Irvine narrowed his eyes and looked around the room briefly. "You know," he began, "I really don't trust that Seymour guy, since the moment I saw him in Luca… There's just something really eerie about him that almost reminds me of Sorceress Edea." His friends nodded in agreement. "If he did cast a spell on you, he will pay for it, I'll make sure of that. Not to mention, when we find Squall, and he learns about this, he'll probably tear a piece of that guy."

"Do you think we'll find the others soon?" Rinoa asked eagerly.

"It's hard to say, but I'm sure it won't take us too long to regroup," Irvine answered. "Let's hope we all made it through the Time Compression to Spira." He opened the map and discovered a few marked spots on the map that weren't there before. Slightly confused, he looked at Rinoa and asked, "Did you draw these markings on the map?" He turned it around and pointed to the circles and star on the map.

Even more confused, Rinoa got off of Zell's bed, and sat next to Irvine on his, looking at the map. With her right index finger, she placed it on the map and traced around the circles and the star. Suddenly she felt it again - time seemed to stop just like before, and she was now looking at herself and a dark figure, as if watching a movie.

"…and by the time they reach Zanarkand, my powers will be so immense that no one will be able to stop me," a mysteriously familiar voice spoke calmly from the darkness.

"I won't let you have my power!" Rinoa yelled. "I'll never will you my power, ever! I'd rather die than give you any Sorcery!"

"I'll see to it that I get that power from you," the voice was chillingly cold. "I'll have an offer you won't be able to resist…" A sinister laugh followed, and Rinoa knew it was none other than Seymour. The dark figure slowly made its way out of the room, and left Rinoa speechless. She turned the small lamp on that sat on the table next to her bed. She picked up the map from the floor and unfolded it. Seymour had drawn three circles and a star on the map where Zanarkand was.

"Rinoa? Rinoa!" Zell was shaking Rinoa, trying to snap her out of the daze she was in. Worried that she might faint again, he kept his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady. After a moment, the life came back to her eyes and she blinked, momentarily shocked.

"What happened to you, Rin?" Irvine questioned, leaning over to look at her face.

"He… he came into my room last night," Rinoa said quietly, "and he told me that he was going to take my power from me… Or rather that he would make me give him my Sorcery power…" She shook her head in disbelief.

"You mean he's here? In Guadosalam?!" Zell shouted, slightly annoyed.

"He is Seymour _Guado _after all," Irvine pointed out. "This is probably his hometown kind of thing… Why didn't I think of that before I brought us here?" He sighed and shook his head as well.

"We better get her away from this place as soon as possible then, we can't have this guy messing around with Rinoa's thoughts and stuff. Not to mention we cannot let this guy take her powers… Who knows what kind of chaos would ensue!" Zell stood up straight and punched the air with his fists tightly clenched. "When we find the others, we'll make sure we kick his ass."

A/N: I didn't realize it's been almost four years since I last updated this fic… I kept meaning to update it, but a lot of stuff happened with moving, school, work, etc, and I completely lost the time to continue any of my fanfics. After reading the story up to chapter seven, I was inspired again to continue this fic. Hopefully I don't lose interest again, and keep the story updated every now and then. I'm hoping to go back and revise the previous chapters, as I seemed to have cut out a lot of scenes and dialogue that I could have used… The Prologue will most likely be updated as well, simply because I absolutely hate how I wrote it four years ago… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!


	10. HoS Update

As you all know, it's been a very long time since I have updated this story. I'm currently working on a re-write/edit on my other account (~trustnoevil). If you are following this story under Fayte, I will no longer be updating it on this account. If you'd like to read and follow the re-written/edited version, please do so on my other account ~trustnoevil

Thank you, and sorry for leaving the story just hanging around.


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